Portland's St Georges centre, St Georges day

St Georges day is soon upon us, 23rd April, a day England rarely celebrates as it should do... shame on us for that, this is something England should have embraced more not less over the years, look at the very widespread St Patrick day celebrations, we in England even celebrate it more then St Georges day!

A day where there should be an abundance of our white flags with the red cross in the streets, not stopped by the council...

Portlanders betrayed...again, with lies and disrespect

This view has changed forever, for a few reasons, with the removal of the big tanks seen towards the back to be replaced with big industrial type buildings.

To the right is a slightly more concerning change with the loss of the "officers field" (click image to enlarge) to some outrageously built "eco homes" which are hideous.

Not only have we been let down on Portland regarding this field, (the only playing field down underhill) but we have been misled on what the homes would look like.

These are monstrous 3 storey buildings that have completely ruined the view.

Portland's luxury flats with that Olympic view

 I found this older picture of the old naval flats.... before the revamp into luxury apartments for private sale, and boy do they look drab and ugly?

Most of us locals felt they should have been pulled down as was the original plan, the navy only intended them to be up for ten years, then replaced with something much more fitting to the area that benefits the locals.

Thankfully the new look after the revamp is a huge improvement and looks much better being white, although they are more likely to be sold to non locals as a holiday home which is a shame.

I felt personally they should have made it into a 4 or 5 star hotel, overlooking the marina it could have been a good addition to the island and boost the little tourism we do get here, at least add to those coming for the sailing and windsurfing.

There's going to be some great views from this building in the 2012 Olympics.

At least the buildings are better...
Nevertheless, looking at this drab picture anything was an improvement.

Portland Bill and the two lighthouses

Portland Bill...not to be confused with the children's cartoon program of the same name is the southern most point of Portland and County of Dorset.

With this impressive 35m lighthouse sitting at the tip since it was built in 1906.
With modern GPS the lighthouse as I have mentioned before on this site is rarely used, although it does if needed as the fog here can be pretty bad at times.

With the history of shipwrecks off Portland we have, you can't take chances.
this is not the only lighthouse at Portland bill either, behind the point I am stood to take this picture sits the white lighthouse which is now a bird observatory, as shown below...



Portland bill here is known for the main red and white lighthouse you see here although there really is much more to Portland bill than two lighthouses. Portland bill itself is quite isolated from the main housing areas, which is great in some sense and in the summer it really does feel like a day out, away from the beaten track.

Portland Bill, always worth going to see, whatever time of the year.

Portland's St Georges Centre

 The St Georges centre..in Reforne.

I think this was a school at one time, it now has several classes, hobby style classes, host jumble sales among other activities.

I can remember this being revamped 15 to 20 years ago, as I grew up (aged 10 onwards) opposite the centre. A lovely row of arches on this building, they made good post for dribbling a football round when you are a football mad teenager!

This along with the YMCA building next to it being revamped made a big difference to Reforne and the area looked better for it.

St Georges Church is situated just at the top of Reforne.

Portland Customs office!

 The old customs office which is still situated down "castletown" where the old naval base was.
Not sure what this is used for nowadays but it's a legacy of the place and too good a building to lose, so it must be in use.

This street used to be so busy with sailors, sometimes the army and there was so much activity in castletown if you were to go there now you would never believe it was once that way, the bars and pubs still there now were back then thronging with sailors...and locals girls too if I am to be honest!

I can imagine this customs building was never empty those days with the sailors on and off ships all the while.
This small customs building has probably needed really!

You can find really old pictures of the "Yanks troops" and more from D Day which launched from this port on the portlanders site, link above on the menu-bar.

The stone ship!

Portland has various interesting stone work scattered around the island. Being the main trade Portland is known for it will come to no surprise to find these various pieces every so often.

The above carving is at the bottom of the high street and Hambro road, this was done by someone I've worked with over the years, an appropriate theme for Portland I think.

You can see the seahorses carved into the side of the stone. As far as I can recall this house belonged to the carvers mother at the time, his father was also a stonemason.

On the top of this wall on the other side the mason has added the road name, so you will spot this work has been done no matter which side you see the wall.

This will be here for many years to come and that is the real beauty of being a stone mason, your legacy lives on long after you have gone.

It is sadly a slowly dying trade.

Portland castle...

Portland castle, from the waters edge.

The castle on Portland was built in the reign of Henry VIII, it has an interesting 450 year history, one of the best coast fortresses built of the time in the UK.

Probably a defence against Spanish or French attack, the two main "rivals" of that era.

A proper Tudor stronghold in the UK and it still has a Tudor kitchen which visitors can see, it's makes a decent day out for any family, a bit of a history lesson for the children, looking at the armour, the gun platform, an audio narration to keep it interesting, (no idea what that itself is like, being deaf).

It has also got an interesting garden these days, a bit different, contemporary you could say.

I have heard it was somehow involved in the first world war...
More recently it played an important role WW2 in D-Day preparations, which was launched from here in Portland harbour.

Here is one of the windows on the castle...



And looking at the castle from a little further away...



You can also sea a small collection of boats that are stored here and used in the harbour....brings the place up to date!

For families visiting Portland bill, Chesil beach, even...Weymouth, should take a chance to see the castle and a bit of our history.

Any thoughts? Have you visited it?

Portland's St Georges church and graveyard.

St Georges church and the graveyard situated at the top of Reforne and Weston road, and the bottom of Wide street.
From where I stand taking this shot there was once a pig farm, thank god that smell has long gone!
Some interesting old gravestones in this church yard and many dating back 150 odd years.

Many of the headstones are large, some carved with angels and such.
Something that seems to have stopped nowadays, nearly all headstones have to fit to certain sizes.

The church is often open to the public, should you come to Portland, I would recommend you go look at the graveyard and it's interesting carved headstones.

Portland heights hotel, with that view from the bar!

"Portland heights hotel"


Sat on the top of the Island with that amazing view sits Portland heights, a hotel complex with a gym, outdoor swimming pool, function room, restaurant and bar is behind the windows shown in the picture.

A great view to go with the meal or drink while watching the sun go down on the summer nights.



To quote a famous advertising slogan ... If carlsberg made hotel views ...

Portland UK : Brandy Lane

Just off Chiswell here is this quaint little Brandy lane consisting of about 5 little cottages as you can see below.



Sadly a derelict little old (fisherman's?) cottage sits almost hidden out of sight on the end of this small street, which sits just behind Chesil beach.



This has been empty for a while now as far as I know, the little cottage next door to it also looks worse for wear sadly but at least it looks like it's being used. Although small homes they are wasted here sat empty and unloved.

How many families have been in this little home over the years gone by?

Portland UK : The cracking house's back!

The last post shared that cracked house from the front but as it's covered in ivy I walked up past it yesterday with my son and took a couple of pictures of the rear of the house as seen below...



A hefty crack I think you will agree and no wonder it's propped up with all that scaffolding. No idea what is being done about it but it can't stay like that for long can it really, it's unsafe and an eyesore when ALL traffic has to pass this if they want to leave the Island... well that is apart from the few locals who know other ways. ;o)

Is that repairable? Rebuildable maybe.

Portland UK : The high streets cracking house!

Below is the picture I took of the cracked house in high street in underhill a couple of years ago. It has been empty for years due to it being unsafe. I have no doubt it caused stress to the next door neighbour too.



Below is the same house now, with the crack getting worse and really opening up it has had to be propped up with all that scaffolding. The crack that can be seen in the top picture is between the windows, as you can see ivy has grown all over now.



This should really have been sorted out years ago, dread to think what would have happened had this collapsed while anyone used the pathway that runs along side the house.

Old cottage

An old fishermans cottage that sits near the beach here.
There are very few of the old ones like this left.

Look at how small it is. ;o)

It is a shame that the other older ones are no longer there.

Parents home up for sale again

Due to the deal falling through, it as arisen for sale again.

The house has 4 bedrooms, one is massive with an en-suite, that one is above the garage.

The other three are all fair sized rooms.
The second bathroom is also a big one, with a freestanding shower in there too.

The house has a huge 80 odd ft garden out the back.

The garage has a rear opening door too, going through to the garden.
Easily get three cars in the garden and one in the garage!

It is a nice home in a nice area of portland.

Anyone interested in this private sale can contact me and I will gladly pass on the details.
Email to.. islandmarketer (AT) gmail.com replace the AT with @

Sold! That was pretty quick.

Well my parents have got a buyer, so it looks like they
are off to retirement sooner than I thought.

Happy retirement.. hope you enjoy it mum. :o)

The speed of the sale doesn't really suprise me due
to the crazy housing market these days.

It makes great sense to sell at these prices, move
to somewhere more suited to your aims and at far
cheaper prices thus giving a boost to the money for
your needs, plans.

Record numbers of people are leaving the U.K to
do just this for the retirement period of life..

Is it any suprise?

Childhood home for sale!

Yes my parents are selling the home I grew up in.
They will be moving to france to retire.

A big 3 storey 4 bed 2 bathroom house with a
cellar, garage that goes through to the 80 odd ft
long garden.

Where? Here... zoom in towards "reforne".

It is halfway up that road. A nice house in a nice
road... easton just down the rd is the centre of the
island, the main shops are there.

You are at the centre of the island and could have
a fantastic walk no matter which direction you choose.
Schools within 400 metres... everything you need.

It is on the top of the island, from the top bedroom
you can see the sea!

Price... around £280.000 region I believe.
It is private sale, and a great buy at that price
considering what is happening to the house prices
here.

Comments?

Portland property prices!

Just in the news recently Poole, Weymouth and Portland were said to be amongst the dearest places to buy a home.

Ouch.... for the younger generation who struggle to get on the property ladder it is a nightmare!

Dorset rocks though!
No wonder when it is this nice. :o)

With the sailing in 2012 coming right here on my doorstep it will only get worse for those hoping to buy.
For those who have a good place here it could be a goldmine coming up to 2012 for your house value...

Sell it?
Rent it out during games for high rate?

Want a place here?
Comment about it and get an inside opinion on the best to consider... ;o)