WEST BAY AND BRIDPORT

West Bay is the port area serving Bridport, and is situated at the mouth of the River Brit, from which Bridport got its name. No blog about Dorset would be complete without a mention of its most famous literary son, Thomas Hardy, and Bridport/West Bay featured in several of his works including The Mayor of Casterbridge, reincarnated as Port Bredy. There is a golden beach here dominated by the distinctive yellow sandstone cliffs rising up to the east of it, and to the west, fine views back towards Lyme Regis. For seafood lovers, West Bay boasts one of the best fish restaurants in the country, The Riverside. Older readers may remember a comedy series starring the inimitable Leonard Rossiter called The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; the opening sequence of this, depicting Perrin abandoning his clothes on the beach and swimming out to sea, was filmed in West Bay. Bridport, just over a mile inland from West Bay, used to have a port of its own, and it was an important rope-making centre, so much so that the expression “Bridport dagger” was used to refer to the hangman’s noose.

For a list of events in West Dorset, follow this link.

West Bay and Bridport webcams.

Map of the area.

The beach at West Bay