West Bay, Dorset May 2008
Centre of the Jurassic Coast
"With the stunning golden glow of the majestic sandstone cliffs to the east and the shimmering radiance of Golden Cap to the west, West Bay is Dorset's Golden Gateway to the Jurassic Coast . West Bay nestles south of Bridport, between Eype with Seatown to the west and Freshwater with Burton Bradstock to the east. Situated at the western end of Chesil Beach / Chesil Bank, the area forms part of Dorset's Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site within Lyme Bay . West Bay, Dorset is a wonderful seaside location for family holidays, countryside and coastal walks, fossil hunting, fishing/angling trips, scuba diving, paragliding, golfing, river boating and so much more. Dorset 's historic market town of Bridport lies one and a half miles inland." I didn't write that.... It's a bit flowery for me. However it does describe it well.
The Accommodation
Durbeyfield Guest House is situated on the quieter side of the small fishing village of West Bay , Just 20 seconds walk to a really pretty harbour. We have stayed in the guest house before and it is a traditional B7B. Rooms are simple but comfortable. Some rooms have their own shower others are on a shared basis. Since we last went they now have their own bar though it is effectively just a small sitting room, which makes it quite cosy really. The guest house is family run and dates back to the Georgian period. It now offers superb Bed and Breakfast accommodation comprising of 6 doubles some of which are en-suite, 2 singles, 2 twin rooms. The recent refurbishment has left the guest house tastefully furnished.
The Itinerary
We have booked a boat called the Huntress II for Saturday and Sunday, which means we can get 4 dives in over the weekend. The boat is a Lochin 40 which is a fairly big boat and is similar to the Endeavour we dived on at the Scylla, and yes it does have a lift.
The plan is to drive down on Friday 16th May and arrive late afternoon or early evening. I will book a table for us all at a local restaurant for saturday evening but depending on what time people get down on Friday we can get together or do our own thing. We also have an option to stay for the Sunday night if you don't fancy the drive back. It should be around a 4 hour trip
The dive sites.
For centuries, Lyme Bay was considered the only safe anchorage to shelter during storms. Even so, many vessels still came to grief and Lyme Bay itself is now so littered with wrecks that it is often referred to as 'The Bay of a Thousand Wrecks'. During the days of sail, Chesil Beach frequently proved a death trap to any vessel caught there in a winter storm. Hence its occasional reference to 'Deadman's Bay' There are also a great many reefs.
Rather than us listing all the sites, if you follow either of the links below you will get a good description of the dive sites
http://www.westbaydiving.com/DiveSites/Baygitano This links to a description of sites that we can dive and gives a good description. I have linked to this particular dive as this is one that we have dived before
http://www.westbaydivecharters.co.uk/Wrecks.htm
A few pictures of the area |
