Cruising around the UK – Day 3

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Monday 14 September 2026

Morning all! Here we are aboard the Cruise Ship – Bolette – the flagship of the Fred. Olsen Cruise Line. It’s Day 3 of our 10-day sail around the UK.

Missed a Post?

Day 1 – All Aboard the MS Bolette
Day 2 – Sea Day

Our Itinerary

What’s on?

Breakfast – Day 3

Another very relaxed breakfast this morning in the half-empty ‘Bloomsbury’.

After breakfast, we took our customary one-mile walk around the Prom Deck. Well, almost! As we entered our third lap, we were obstructed by a ‘no entry’ sign. Looks like they’re doing something serious with/to the Prom Deck today! Ah, never mind!

Looking out across the Port, we could see the free shuttle service, a weird vehicle that looked like it came straight out of a scene from Thunderbirds, plus a strange-looking vessel named ‘TideForce’ (A139) that appeared to be very military-like, but then again, no sign of any guns! 😮.

Cue some research using Wiki and Google! They suggested the following:-
RFA Tideforce is one of four ‘tide-class’ replenishment tankers belonging to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). These vessels provide fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Naval vessels around the world. This one has a range of around 18000 nautical miles and weighs in at around 39000 tonnes. RFA Tidespring (A136), RFA Tiderace (A137) RFA Tidesurge (A138) complete the UK family.

Another ‘school day’! 🤔 – who knew?

Right! Time to get ready to explore…

Port of Portland

We’re docked in the Port of Portland where the weather is, at least, dry for our day ashore.

Portland is a ruggedly beautiful island connected to the mainland by the renowned Chesil Beach and is known for its striking cliffs and wild landscapes. Forming part of the Jurassic Coast, the island is rich in history, with important landmarks like Portland Castle and the distinctive red and white tower of Portland Bill Lighthouse.

Fred Olsen has made it easy for us to get around. There was a shuttle-bus to get us to Portland Castle (on our list) and then on to nearby Weymouth. I think we might be the last two on earth NOT to have been to Weymouth before, and we’ve heard good things about it!

We’re off! 👍. What made the whole boarding process a little odd was the number of on-site Police taking an interest in us all. In fact, as we looked around, there was a disproportionate number of uniformed PCs watching our every move! We’d noticed them earlier, but didn’t think any more of it at the time. In fact, it turns out that this was no ordinary Port. Manned barriers and a double-check of our Ship’s passes were also part of the arrival/departure process. Weird! Oh, and no-one was allowed to leave the Port ON FOOT and/or simply wander around the Port area! Lightbulb moment 💡. I guess it’s something to do with part of the Port being used by the UK Military 😮.

Portland Castle

Portland Castle is one of Henry VIII’s coastal artillery forts, built to defend Portland Harbour. Its squat rounded seaward form was designed to deflect an incoming cannon shot.

In truth, there’s not an awful lot to see here, but it was good that English Heritage had shown it some love over the years and helped conserve it. They promoted its history and relevance to the area too and had done a great job. It’s worth a look, especially for the views out across the harbour. A quicky for us – we were in and out inside an hour.

D-Day Museum

The Museum is located in nearby Castletown, east of Portland Castle. Opening dates and times are a bit random, so do read the website for the latest information.

We gave up trying to get to this one! Plenty of advertising for it though, so it should have been very straightforward! ☹️☹️. I blame the Police!! If we had been allowed to simply WALK from the Ship to it, that would have taken no time at all. However, with the increased Police activity where all passengers had to be on the Shuttle to get anywhere – and the Shuttle wasn’t scheduled to stop at the Museum – it was simply impossible.

Actually, it wasn’t! We eventually worked out that providing you took the Shuttle to the Castle and then walked to the Museum from there, it was all doable (providing you then walked back to the Shuttle stop outside the Castle afterwards, in the opposite direction to the Bolette). Far too complicated for these two usually razor-sharp minds. Ah well, maybe next time?? 😵‍💫

Weymouth

Weymouth is a seaside resort, where its economy depends on tourism. Visitors are attracted by its harbour and position, approximately halfway along the Jurassic Coast, important for its geology and landforms. Once a port for cross-channel ferries, Weymouth Harbour is now home to a commercial fishing fleet, pleasure boats and private yachts, while nearby Portland Harbour is remembered for the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

It was just 4.2 miles to Weymouth and initially, we weren’t sure what the town would be like – but it turned out to really pretty and had a real buzz about it too. Even though it wasn’t a particularly hot day (and a touch of rain in the air), all the eateries, pubs and shops were seeing a lot of footfall. After a short walk from where the Shuttle dropped us, we were in amongst the locals sharing some gorgeous views around this seaside town.

It seemed that we were in for an extra treat too! – the sight of the town bridge elevating (no doubt to allow a large vessel to pass underneath!). I bet you don’t get to see that too often!! 🤔

With the bridge fully raised, we waited for the vessel to make an appearance… and waited… and waited some more. The bridge then went down! Err, it turned out that there was no large vessel due AT ALL, the bridge does this at regular times every day (12 noon, in our case). Spot the Weymouth tourist, ehh?!! 😮😁.

Elsewhere, there was even more stunning views around the water, and it was easy to see why holidaymakers flock here every year. It was easy to imagine how busy the area would be during the recent (very) hot Summer.

We stopped for a coffee and cake break at Coffee#1 and then explored the retail scene. The shops seemed to go on for miles – and in all directions! It was good to see so many that were small independent businesses rather than just the big names normally associated with many ‘high streets’.

When we finally got to the end of the run of shops, the area began to look more like a typical seaside resort – three-and-a-half miles of sandy beaches, a long run of deck-chairs and even a Punch & Judy show ready for a performance!

After enjoying the sights and sounds of the beach area, we crossed the road to look at the famous tribute statue of King George III (installed in 1809) kitted out in his coronation robes, looking over Weymouth Bay.

Weymouth turned out to be a really pleasant surprise, and I’m sure we’ll be back as part of a future break. We headed back to the Shuttle and were soon back on board.

Sail Away

At just after 6pm, we officially left Weymouth. On many Cruises, departures from Ports have become a ‘thing’ that’s not simply about raising the anchor and leaving. It seems that Fred Olsen has joined the craze, and this evening we had not only the Weymouth Ukeleleans entertaining us, but it was followed later by a three-shot cannon salute by a local re-enactment society 😵‍💫😵‍💫.

Dinner

Another cracking meal in the Restaurant tonight!

Entertainment

Against our better judgment, we headed for the Neptune Lounge to see the performance of Legacy – the story behind the history of the Fred. Olsen family set against the music of the times. Yikes! Sounded risky, just reading about it on paper, but watching it live was worse! What a disappointment!! Let’s leave it there, shall we!! ☹️☹️

Talk about ‘murder on the dancefloor’! 🤔

Tomorrow…

We’re sailing for St Mary’s, the largest island on the Isles of Scilly where we plan to dock by 6.30am. We’re going ashore first, and later in the day, Ann has booked a trip to Tresco Abbey Gardens.

See you tomorrow! 🥱🥱