The great thing about being back from uni is being able to enjoy living in Weymouth this summer. Weymouth is such a pretty picturesque seaside town, but I never really get the time to appreciate it. I go to and from where ever I need to be, without taking the time to enjoy my surroundings and make the most of the beach and harbour. I always see all the tourists having fun in the sun, so I decided I was going to take some time to stop, and enjoy where I live.
So with the weather being so brilliant at the moment, I asked my work for a few cheeky days off, and all I needed was an adventuring buddy. With little persuasion, I asked if my flatmate and uni partner in crime, Emily, wanted to come and visit for a few days. We had one full day to cram in as much tourist activities as we could. Luckily, my mum agreed to play the part of chauffeur and tour guide, so we could see and do as much as possible.
We began the day by going to lunch at the beautiful Cafe Oasis. (You have to remember we are uni students who like to sleep, so morning activities were not on the schedule!) Cafe Oasis is a busy cafe situated by Bowleaze Cove, the other end of the beach to the main town of Weymouth. It is right on the side of the beach, so you can gaze out of the window looking at the waves and the very attractive windsurfers. I always feel like I'm in Home And Away when I go here, because of the relaxed beach vibes you get when you're sat having a cup of tea and a sandwich. While we were here, we took the opportunity to take a few pictures on the beach. The beach is more pebbly and stony at this end of the beach, opposed to the sandy touristy end by town. I hate sand, it gets everywhere and is a complete nightmare to get rid of, so this end of the beach is by far my favourite. Plus it's so much quieter, as many tourists can't be bothered to trek so far away from the main town.
We proceeded into town in the afternoon to do a spot of shopping, although we don't have a massive selection of shops in Weymouth. I was adamant to drag Emily around as many tacky tourist shops as possible, where you can buy all sorts of rubbish such as tea towels and magnets. This got pretty boring pretty quickly, I used to work in a souvenir shop and I know for a fact every one all around the country sells different variations of the same rubbish. So in my opinion, once you've been in one souvenir shop, you've been in them all.
Admitting defeat with the shopping, we decided to go to the arcades to continue our tourist experience. Alexander Gardens is opposite the beach, near the harbour. It's a small island with an arcade, food kiosk, and plenty of rides. We had to have an obligatory Mr Whippy, it's practically tradition to get one when you go to the beach, and then we hit the slots. Having spent many summers wasting my pocket money on the 2p machines, I was pretty fed up of playing as soon as I started, so this fun was also short lived. And is it just me, or have the prizes you can win got worse? I used to love trying to win the keyrings, but there was no way on earth I was going to waste my money trying to win one that said "Mrs Harry Styles".
Having had enough of all Weymouth town centre had to offer, we wandered back along the seafront, stopping off to see what the local 'Sandman' had been upto. Cue a few more selfies in front of the beach, before we grabbed a quick tea break on the beach and went home.
After a quick change of clothes (because it was far too cold in a dress by this point), we went up to visit Portland Lighthouse. Right on the southern tip of the island, the lighthouse has 153 steps up to the top, which I've not climbed in years. My mum and Emily both have vertigo, so luckily for them it was shut. We wondered around gazing off into the sea for a while, before watching the sun go down on a perfect day.
I wanted Emily to sample a bit of a Weymouth night out, but it was a Wednesday, and the pickings were a bit slim. We ended up in local pub/bar Rendezvous, which is next to Weymouth Harbour. It was fairly quiet, giving us the perfect opportunity for cocktails and a catchup. A few locals played an acoustic set, apparently it was 'Open Mic Night', but there was no way we were going up there, well at least not without an awful lot of vodka being consumed first. One woman took the opportunity to go on stage, to sing to her 18 year old granddaughter. It was ridiculously embarrassing watching some drunk old lady singing 'Blue Suede Shoes' for about 10 minutes, before she was politely asked if she would exit the stage. Only in Weymouth. We stumbled back in at 1.30am, having managed to get in quite a lot in a day.
It just goes to show how much I take for granted where I live. By taking the time to stop, explore, and make the most of Weymouth, I really got to fall in love with my home town all over again. It was like having a mini-holiday, without having to pay to go away anywhere.
My challenge to you, is take a day off and go exploring in your home town. Where you live probably has so much to offer, so take full advantage of it and have fun!
Much love... ♥
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