Weymouth: The briny heart of the Jurassic Coast

By Anton Constantinou

Seaside towns in Britain are a feast for the nose. The fish, the sand, the seaweed, the salty sea air. The smell is unmistakable and, for me, one of the most calming out there.

Weymouth, a seaside town in South West England, is much like any other - a coming together of beaches, fish and chip shops, arcades, and gift shops. But what really makes it special is how it smells.

A familiar coastal retreat

I’ve been coming to Weymouth for years, so I know its aroma well. My family has a flat here, just minutes from the beach, that I stay in at least once or twice a year.

Weymouth lies on a sheltered bay along the English Channel and is home to one of Britain’s prettiest beaches - Weymouth Beach. Part of Dorset and sitting along the Jurassic Coast - a county in South West England known for its cliffs and coastline - it boasts a beautiful seafront and various architectural treasures, such as Nothe Fort, an eye-catching Victorian coastal fort, and Portland Bill Lighthouse, the iconic red-and-white lighthouse turned visitor centre.

Behind its many sights and attractions lie a number of interesting smells.

Salt, seaweed, and sea air

Sea air is perhaps the most persistent smell in Weymouth. From its shopping streets to its esplanade, there is a brininess that follows you wherever you go - a seaside aroma that smells simultaneously of seawater, seaweed, damp wood, and wet stone.

At Weymouth Harbour, the strongest facet that hits you is the damp wood from the boats, which has a dank, musty aroma. While on Weymouth Beach, the more noticeable smells are seaweed and salt water.

The green aroma of Nothe Gardens

Nothe Gardens, Weymouth’s historic coastal defence gardens, lie atop a hill overlooking both Weymouth Harbour and the English Channel.

Getting there from the town centre takes you through the gardens themselves, which, far from being just a visual delight, are an olfactory joy, especially in spring and summer.

Home to a vast array of trees and shrub beds, the gardens feature elder plants with a smell resembling a mix of celery, parsley, and carrot, alongside cypress trees with their fresh, clean woody aroma and pine trees, whose familiar pine-needle scent is a welcome addition to the gardens.

Fish and chips, sausages, and crab

Fried food is a common aroma in Weymouth, though not to an overwhelming extent. Between its fish and chip shops, cafés, and pubs, the smell of batter follows you, as does the smell of chips.

One especially fun food smell you find in Weymouth is the smell of sausages. The town has a whimsical butcher’s shop called The Fantastic Sausage Factory that specialises in sausages and gives off a delicious aroma of them.

However, a favourite food smell of mine in Weymouth comes not from the high street, but from a certain waterside restaurant specialising in crab - The Crab House Café.

As the name suggests, it is Weymouth’s go-to restaurant for all things crab and serves some of the best around. Located beside the water and overlooking Chesil Beach, it is ideally situated for serving fresh crab and does an excellent large brown crab.

For those unfamiliar with crab, it has a mild and pleasant aroma that is marine-like, salty, and slightly sweet. And, for me at least, it is one of the best tasting things in the ocean. A few of Weymouth’s cafés offer crab sandwiches, but they are nothing compared with a whole brown crab.

The curious smell of seaside arcades

Another smell that hits you, if you sniff closely enough in Weymouth, is the aroma of arcades. Weymouth has several along its esplanade and they all smell of the same thing - a mix of warm electronics and old carpet, intertwined with wafts of coins and stale sweets.

If you know the smell, you know it. And if you don’t, sniff deeply next time you’re at a seaside arcade and tell me what you smell.

A town defined by scent

Most seaside towns smell pretty similar when you really get down to it, but that doesn’t make them any less special from one another.

If I could summarise Weymouth’s aroma in one word, I would say it’s seaweedy - but maybe I’ll let you be the judge of that for yourself.