Where to Stay and What to Do | Travel + Leisure
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Where to Stay and What to Do

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WEYMOUTH AND DORSET

WHEN TO GO

June and July are usually quiet (English schools don't get out until mid-July), which makes August the month when holidaymakers descend. Don't miss the mid-August carnival, complete with a parade and rides set up on the Esplanade along the beach—it's madly crowded but wildly amusing.

Another good time to visit is during a warm weekend in May, but this can be hard to arrange as the weather is so unreliable. The warmest summer temperatures hit a high of only about 68 degrees— jackets and Windbreakers are recommended.

GETTING THERE

It is possible to drive to Weymouth from Heathrow (121 miles) or Gatwick (145 miles), but this is not advisable in the summer months, when traffic can be heavy. There are also numerous flights from Europe into Bournemouth and Southampton airports, and easy links from France and Belgium into Poole and Weymouth.

Trains that stop at the coastal towns leave hourly from London via Dorchester South and from Bath. Trains between Weymouth and Dorchester depart every half-hour and those between Weymouth and Bristol leave every two hours.

Buses are another viable option: one four-hour National Express bus arrives daily from London, and many more come from Bristol, Southampton, and Bournemouth. For further information, contact Traveline (44-870/608-2608; www.traveline.org.uk).

WHERE TO STAY

Brunswick Guest House
Brunswick offers local color inside (a British clientele and homey comfort) and out (it faces directly onto the beach—and its uproarious weekend scene). 9 Brunswick Terrace; 44-1305/785-408; www.brunswickweymouth.co.uk; doubles from $55, including breakfast.

Hotel Rembrandt
This hotel is definitely the fanciest place in town. 12–18 Dorchester Rd.; 44-1305/764-000; www.hotelrembrandt.co.uk; doubles from $185, including breakfast.

Royal Hotel
Visitors must book at this Victorian property for a minimum of three nights. The rooms with unobstructed views of the Esplanade are a hot commodity (and cost extra). 90–91 Esplanade; 44-1305/782-777; www.washearings.com; three-night package from $240 per person.

WHERE TO EAT

Crab House Café & Fleet Oyster Farm
Ferrybridge; 44-1305/788-867; dinner for two $95.

Fish 'n' Fritz
9 Market St.; 44-1305/766-386; www.fishnfritz.co.uk; dinner for two $20.

Lobster Pot Restaurant
Portland Bill Rd.; 44-1305/ 820-242; lunch for two $30.

Perry's
4 Trinity Rd.; 44-1305/785-799; www.perrysrestaurant.co.uk; dinner for two $90.

Riverside Restaurant
West Bay, Bridport; 44-1308/ 422-011; dinner for two $110.

WHERE TO DRINK

Black Dog
3 St. Mary's St.; 44-1305/ 771-426; pints for two $6.

WHAT TO DO

Brewers Quay
Hope Square, Weymouth; 44-1305/777-622; Timewalk $9.

Cerne Abbas
Don't miss seeing this antique village in "Country Dorset"—or the Cerne Abbas Giant, Britain's best-known chalk figure. The area, just north of Dorchester, is easily reachable by bus; the ride from Weymouth takes an hour.

Corfe Castle
Just south of Wareham on A351. 44-1929/481-294; tickets $9.

Kingston Lacy
Wimborne Minster; 44-1202/ 883-402; tickets $16.

Nothe Fort
Barrack Rd., Weymouth; 44-1305/766-626; tickets $9.

WHAT TO READ

Weymouth Sands
By John Cowper Powys (Overlook Hardcover, 1999). Originally published in 1934, this story of love and fury takes place in the British seaside town.

The Mayor of Casterbridge
By Thomas Hardy (Modern Library Classics, 2002). A tragic novel about Weymouth's neighboring county town of Dorchester.

T+L TIPs

Dress in "Seaside Dorset" is very informal, and it is not uncommon for the locals to go out on pub crawls on the weekend dressed in costume, often in groups on a hen or stag night. It can be quite a remarkable scene.

Nautically minded travelers might want to plan a Dorset trip for the summer of 2012, when all Olympic sailing events will take place on Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.

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