The West Bay Discovery Centre’s volunteers have been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2024, one of only two voluntary organisations in Dorset this year. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE. The King’s Award Read more…
The 1st of October saw a new arrangement for the West Bay Discovery Centre, one which the Bridport Area Development Trust (BADT) believes will secure the continuing success of the award-winning Centre. The Bridport Communities Trust will be taking over the ownership of the building and the Bridport Town Council Read more…
We’re delighted to have been selected as a Travellers’ Choice Award Winner again for 2024. The award is given to establishments that have consistently received great reviews over the past 12 months and we are so very grateful to our visitors for their kind words and recommendations and placing us Read more…
The Victorian era was a time of remarkable progress, marked by an enthusiastic drive to expand Britain’s railway network. For many years, proposals were put forward to connect Bridport to the wider railway system, but none came to fruition until local determination took the lead. In 1857 a group of Read more…
Our current exhibition ‘West Bay in the War’ has attracted many visitors. It looks at West Bay’s coastal defences, food rationing and the recollections of local people and GI’s living in West Bay. In November 1943 the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment US arrived in Dorset and were Read more…
Dorset is a county famous for its culture. Creativity thrives here, and the enormous variety and volume of cultural events is astounding. We are delighted to have been featured in the Arts Development Company’s Culture in Dorset celebrations and report, see why we were chosen below: The Arts Development Council Read more…
Fishing has always been part of West Bay, a source of employment and something that attracts visitor interest. In our latest exhibition ‘Beneath the Waves we have bought to life the history of fishing along the Chesil Beach and in Lyme Bay. We tell the story of the seine fishing Read more…
West Bay Discovery Centre is proud to follow the the Kids in Museums Manifesto guidelines developed with children, young people and families and reflect what they feel makes museums and heritage organisations welcoming and inclusive places. We are one of nearly 1,100 organisations that have signed up to show their Read more…
The water fountain (trough) Have you ever even noticed the water trough or wondered how long it has been at West Bay? This water trough is the only relic left in West Bay of the era of the horse drawn cart. Horses were an integral part of Harbour life, as Read more…
Our exhibition over the winter invited our visitors to relive their “West Bay Memories”. The exhibition used photographs and stories that have been shared with the Centre by local people and visitors. Many of our film clips and images came from holiday makers who were more likely to have captured Read more…