Nothe Gardens facts for kids
Nothe Gardens is a beautiful public park in Weymouth, Dorset, England. It sits on the Nothe Peninsula, offering amazing views of both Weymouth and Portland harbours. Many people say these informal gardens are the prettiest in the whole area!
Inside the gardens, you'll find Nothe Fort. This fort was built way back in 1872 to protect Portland's harbour. Today, it's a popular museum and a fun place to visit.
Right below the gardens, near the coast, are Stone Pier (which is at the entrance to Weymouth Harbour) and Newton's Cove.
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A Look Back in Time at Nothe Gardens
The Nothe area is quite large, covering about 40,000 square metres of land. It's special because it hasn't been changed much by modern buildings. Long ago, this area was very important for the military. It helped defend Weymouth's port. Today, it's a much more peaceful place for everyone to enjoy.
The flat top part of Nothe Gardens was once a military camp. Now, it's open space for the public. The gardens themselves started to be created around 1888.
Nothe Gardens During World War II
During World War II, there were big anti-aircraft guns in the gardens, west of Nothe Fort. These guns were there to shoot down enemy planes. There were four of these powerful Vickers Armstrong guns.
After the war, by the 1970s, these guns were removed. A car park was built where they once stood. But don't worry, you can still see a restored gun like those on the walls of Nothe Fort today!
There was also a large searchlight at the bottom of the garden. It looked out over Portland Harbour. Its job was to light up enemy ships at night. This searchlight was built with concrete around 1940 or 1941. It stayed in the gardens for many years. However, a landslip destroyed it in 1998.
Rebuilding History: The Searchlight Replica
Even though the original searchlight was gone, Nothe Fort had become a popular place for tourists. So, people from the Weymouth Civic Society decided to build a copy of the searchlight. They put this replica inside the fort's grounds.
The new searchlight even has an original 90mm searchlight and other old equipment. You can visit it today when you go to the fort. It's located on the northern side of the fort. There's another old searchlight nearby at Weymouth's South Pier. This one was used to guard the entrance of Weymouth Harbour. It's now a protected historical site.
Wildlife in Nothe Gardens
Nothe Gardens is a great place for many different animals and plants. You can often spot various kinds of birds and grey squirrels here.
Other animals that live in the area include bats, roe deer, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, shrews, and mice. You might even see slow worms! There are also many different kinds of insects. The plant life is also very rich, with a wide variety of trees and established shrub beds.
Friends of the Nothe Gardens
The Friends of the Nothe Gardens are a group of local people who really care about the gardens. They work to make sure everyone can enjoy this special place. Their main goal is to make the gardens "a jewel amongst Weymouth's attractions."
Recently, this group has received money from the Lottery to help with their work.
Nothe Gardens and the 2012 Olympics
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When Weymouth and Portland hosted the sailing events for the 2012 Olympics, parts of Nothe Gardens were closed to the public. The Olympic committee, called LOCOG, decided to charge people money (from £20 to £50) to enter the gardens. This was so they could watch the sailing events from a special viewing area.
Some local people were not happy about this plan. A fence was put up to separate the ticketed area from the rest of the gardens. The rest of the gardens stayed open for free for everyone. Nothe Fort also had about 150 people helping out as marshals during the games. They expected around 4,600 ticketed spectators to visit the official viewing point each day during the two weeks of the Olympics.
