Family Day Out at Nothe Fort
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Nothe Fort in Weymouth is a brilliant family day out whatever the weather. We visited in the summer and the kids and had a great time exploring the indoor and outdoor areas, and meandering through the underground tunnels.
Nothe Fort sits right at the end of the Nothe Peninsula with stunning view across the harbour and out to sea. There’s a large car park with reasonable prices for the day or it’s only a 10 minute walk from the harbour if you’re visiting via public transport. The history of the Nothe Fort spans over 160 years, from Victorian coastal defence to Local Authority nuclear bunker and is now a museum.
We arrived just before lunch time and grabbed some drinks from the Fort View Café to enjoy with our picnic and went to the upper level to find a bench and take in the views. We spent a good hour on the upper level looking at the large guns which are high on the ramparts and finished up in a control tower where the kids had the chance to look out of the telescope.
On the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month you can watch the Nothe Fort Artillery displays which includes musketry and cannon firing drills. I’d definitely recommend catching it if you can and if little one’s have sensitive ears then you can pick up some ear defenders as the bangs might make them jump.
Before we went exploring in the underground passages I explained to the kids that we needed to find and count all of the little Nothe Fort mice that were hidden around. My son just wanted to explore but my daughter loves a challenge and whilst I know we didn’t find them all I think we did pretty good.
The tunnels and ground level rooms are amazing, there’s so much to see and do. We found tons of interactive buttons to press, films to see and informative boards to read (that’s my husband’s job while I concentrate on not losing the kids). The children really enjoyed learning how to send morse code and exploring the tunnels, nuclear bunker and rooms full of history and displays. The funniest though was the dark Ghost Passage which my son quickly went through a few times but my daughter was too scared so she would go round.
When we came out of the tunnels it was time for a nice cold drink and a treat. The café has hot and cold lunches, sandwiches, soup, snacks, kids meals, ice cream and homemade cake, all at very reasonable prices. When we finished our drinks and cakes, my daughter wanted to do some crafts and my son wanted to go back up to the ramparts so we split up for our final bit of fun.
Before we left, we told the staff how many mice we counted and my daughter received a certificate and we bought a souvenir mouse to paint at home.
Good to know:
• Toilets and baby change facilities are located near the cafe.
• There is lift access for the upper and lower level.
• Dogs are welcomed but must be kept on short leads.
• If the little darlings aren’t quite exhausted when you leave then there’s a lovely play area and nature trail in the gardens.
Nothe Fort has lots of exciting child friendly events during half terms and there are also special events on selected weekends. For more information and ticket prices, please visit Nothe Fort.
I thoroughly recommend a day trip to Nothe Fort, there’s so much to see and do and the views are just incredible. Possibly the best part though is that your day ticket becomes an annual pass which means you can go back again and again for a whole year!
If you need more ideas on places to visit in Dorset then please take a look at some of our other blog posts below.
Where to see Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Free and Low Cost Places to go in Dorset with Kids
Tout Quarry Sculpture Park in Portland
High Angle Battery in Portland
A Family Stay at the Penn Estate
Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre & Beach
Church Ope Cove, Rufus Castle & Pirate Graves Walk
For further ideas on places to visit in Dorset then please take a look at our list of Attractions in Dorset.
