Victorian Military Tattoo 2009:   

The inaugural Victorian Military Tattoo hosted by Nothe Fort and Gardens in support of Help for Heroes was a great performing colourful spectacle. This type of event was a first for Weymouth & Portland and the Nothe peninsular was carefully chosen for its authentic location and ability to create the right Victorian atmosphere.

What made such an impact and lasting impression was how so many people made an effort to be in period costume, all adding to the living history, The soldiers all stayed in tents in Nothe Gardens and interacted with visitors throughout the weekend.

The procession of Queen Victoria in her finest horse drawn carriage, accompanied by the mounted Hussars, Die Hard Middlesex Regiment, Green Howards (all the way from Yorkshire), Cambridgeshire Regiment Band and our own Nothe Fort Artillery Volunteers formed a precision marching colourful military procession.    

This time (at long last) we had one of the best weekends regarding weather for some time, which all added to the spirit of the occasion.

We would like to say a big thank you to Major John Hurst (event organiser), all the re-enactors, Nothe Fort Volunteers, Weymouth & Portland Council and all the visitors who witnessed this fantastic and entertaining spectacle.

All we ask is to have more events in the Borough like this and the message that needs to go out is to watch this space, we are busy planning a variety of cultural 2010 events for the benefit of locals and visitors alike.

Nothe Fort Delivers All Inspiring Event:

The Nothe Fort Events Team formed last Autumn have had their “Baptism of Fire”, or rather Water.   On the week-end of 6th & 7th June they held a 65th D Day Anniversary Celebration.   Two days of fantastic displays by visiting WWII Re-enacting groups, including bomb disposal, field hospital, WWII radio communications, military vehicles and also Home Front stalls advising on Wartime cookery, allotments and Make do and Mend.

The jewel in the crown was the “Proms in the Fort” concert held on the Saturday evening was a huge success, despite torrential rain.   Twenty five schoolchildren joined the Light Cavalry Band for this evening, playing classical music remembering the dark and sombre days of the war as well as more light hearted tunes.   They ended the performance with the familiar all inspiring  promenade favourites.   Many in the t audience,  tossed their umbrellas aside to wave their flags singing with gusto, dancing and cheering the band.

We would like to take this opportunity of thanking those young people who took part and played so very well and the lads from the Army Cadets who made the collection throughout the week end for the Army Benevolent Fund, raising a total of £250.

The feed-back from re-enactors and visitors alike has been “Please Give us More!”  So look out for the next event and don’t miss it.  

The next event at Nothe Fort is the  Military Festival with Re-enactors covering nearly 200 years – cannons, muskets and rifles.  A great day out for all the family, as well as military enthusiasts -  Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August, see you there.

Fort Artillery welcomes Cruise Liner:

Seven Seas Voyager" is the first ship operated by U.S. cruise giant Regent Seven Seas Cruises Inc. to visit Portland and the success of this call will hopefully lead to more bookings by vessels from this prestigious line in the future.

Seven Seas Voyager carries as many as seven hundred and fifty passengers and four hundred and fifty crew, many of whom took time to visit Portland & the surrounding hinterland including Weymouth, Abbotsbury, Corfe Castle, Maiden Castle and Minterne House.

The ship and her passengers and crew received a very warm welcome. The arrival was greeted by the re-enactment team  from the Nothe Fort Artillery Volunteers who fired a three shot canon salute as the ship entered its berth. 

Portland Port Vessel Services Manager, Anne Alcock, says, "We have devoted a lot of time and energy to expanding Portland's profile within the cruise industry and the increase in bookings for 2010 and beyond are testament to this. We are very aware of just how important the ships' visits are both to the Port itself and to the wider local economy. It has been estimated that each cruise passenger spends an average of £80.00 on each trip ashore which lends a much needed boost locally to revenue from tourism. This is especially important at this time of worldwide financial crisis."

Weymouth Vintage 2009 Bus Running day:

Nothe Fort, in partnership with Devon & Dorset Bus Preservation Group, hosted a different sort of day offering a free bus from the fort to Weymouth College and back all day on Sunday 21st June 2009. Any visitors presenting an event programme were given discount off admission to Nothe Fort.

The annual event is organised by the Devon & Dorset Bus Preservation Group and will be based at Weymouth College. Robin Woodcock, event organiser, said “two years ago we managed to stage the first vintage bus event in the town since 1980. This is our third show and running day in the Borough of Weymouth & Portland and proves very appealing to all ages.  The families love to ride for fun and our more senior citizens for pure nostalgia”.

The Nothe Fort service 100, mainly by small petrol engine buses in the shape of a 1929 Dennis toastrack bus, which used to climb the Great Orme in Llandudno and a Bedford MLC which used to operate school services for Dorset County Council and has now been in the safe care of owner Norman Aish for over 40 years.

Steven Booth, Administration Manager at Nothe Fort said “we were very happy to support and host this special annual event which will gives visitors the opportunity to ride from the college to Nothe Fort via the scenic beach front and old harbour, creating a fun and enjoyable experience to all who board the bus.  Nothe Fort has improved its facilities and visitor experience over the years and offers a wide variety of visitor services, as well as many varied regular cultural and historic events”.

All Hands to the Pump:

As many local schools will testify, Nothe Fort’s Evacuee Experience is second to none when it comes to reliving life as an evacuee in the 1940s.

Evacuee Experience team leader Andy Stewart said “the fort offers great educational value and fun for the children”. “The children experience an old 1940s school room supervised by a very strict headmaster complete with cane, Air raid shelter drill, Weymouth at War, World War II shop and rationing and Mrs Mop doing the washing at home. He added, “The World War II Evacuee Experience for primary school children has become extremely popular with over 3000 of them coming each year and is designed to meet curriculum requirements. The children are always keen to learn, have a great deal of fun in role play and we always look forward to their visits”. Schools are coming from all over Somerset and Dorset as they discover what benefit this has for their children.

As we wish to keep up the good work and develop our educational community programme, we are always looking for new volunteers to help with this very enjoyable and rewarding activity.

To find out more information or book the World War II Evacuee Experience, please contact Nothe Fort on 01305 766626.