Weymouth Ho – A Bit of Victoriana, a Bit of Art Deco and Some Old Bangers

After leaving Abbotsbury it was a short drive to the seaside town of Weymouth where we were booked into the Seafront Premier Inn (Lodmoor Country Park). Weymouth became a fashionable tourist resort when the Duke of Gloucester built a residence there in 1780 and his cousin George III spent several holidays in the town. A welcome shower and a change of clothes were followed by a stroll along the seafront into the town centre with its Georgian and Regency terraces.

One Art Deco building you won’t see Poirot entering.

On the way we passed this Art Deco building that houses a Chinese restaurant upstairs and an amusement arcade below. We happily wasted a few coppers trying to dislodge the piles of coins in the machines before venturing further. There are two war memorials on the sea front, one to the men of the town and the other to the ANZAC forces that passed through Weymouth between the evacuation of Gallipoli and being sent to the Western Front and Palestine during the Great War. During the Second World War over 500,000 allied troops departed Weymouth for the beaches of Normandy.

There is also a very fine clock tower.

Weymouth Clock Tower

A local subscription raised the funds for the clock tower back in 1887 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. So as the day was drawing in we headed back to the Premier Inn for the night.

The following morning the car park was filling up with classic cars.

Classic Riley

It was the start point of the  Weymouth Vehicle Preservation Society’s Dorset Tour. There were some really exquisite vehicles on show, including, Jaguars, Rileys, Saabs, MGs and even a Ford Capri and an Austin Allegro!

Classic Jag

I liked this Wolseley

Wolseley

It reminded me of the police cars that I used to see on TV cop shows back in the 1960, sadly I could not find a suitable clip but this Robbie Coltraine spoof does the trick