Castletown D-Day Centre Portland UK

Castletown D-Day Centre is a recreation of the Portland Dockyard in 1944. Thousands of US troops of the 5th US Corps and US 1st Infantry began their brave and treacherous journey to Normandy.

I stopped by after visiting Weymouth on my way back to the cruise ship. The local shuttle bus stops at the nearby Portland Castle.

The real equipment and full size figures give a sense of the action in the Spring of 1944.

Before embarking at Portland, many Americans were encamped  about 20 miles away at Wardon Hill, Dorset where my father and others had built camps.

Related Links

Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial

HMS Belfast, a D-Day ship on the Thames in London

Imperial War Museum- Manchester

Imperial War Museum- London

Index to World War II sites

Learn more at ddaycentre.com

Visit notes

There is an entrance fee

Storyboards are on the walls.

You can get in or on a lot of the equipment.

There's a small snack bar.

In 2022, toilets were in a nearby building-request the key.

Nearby

Portland Castle

Weymouth Town and Beaches

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Portland Castle England UK

 

Portland Castle is a gun fort of Henry VIII on England's south coast built in 1539-1540 to defend Portland against European enemies.

Although called a castle, it is not like the large estates occupied by Kings and Queens. 

Soldiers lived here and English Heritage has restored a hands-on Tudor kitchen.

Soldiers may have enjoyed games popular during Tudor times.

Nine Men's Morris

Shove-Groat

Of course, there were cannons and men in uniform.

After the war with France in 1815, Portland Castle was leased to Rev. John Manning.

There are great views of the Portland coast.

Notes

There is an entrance fee.

English Heritage passes are accepted.

I used the shuttle bus between Portland and Weymouth, which stops by the castle.

There's a tea room and a gift shop.

Story boards and an audio guide tell the story of Portland Castle.

Castle website: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portland-castle/

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Nearby

Weymouth town and beach

Conwy Castle, Wales, UK

View of River Conwy from Conwy Castle

 We arrived at Conwy, Wales by train from Holyhead.

Conwy Railway Station / Geoffrey Sutton 2022

You can't miss the impressive medieval fortress known as Conwy Castle.

I took this short video to provide an overview of this magnificent World Heritage Site built more than 700 years ago.

The castle was ordered by King Edward I and the building was under the direction of architect Master James of St George.

The views inside and outside are incredible. There are eight high towers.

The depth is hard to capture in a photo.

A fun photo

After we explored the castle, we walked around the town of Conwy and down by the beach.

River Conwy Beach

The return train was late but we got back to Holyhead in time to board our cruise ship.

Conwy Railway Station

The rail journey is scenic-- following is a short clip from SuttonTravels on YouTube.

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      Visit Wales

Visit my website  suttong.com

Enjoy the cultural differences between the UK and the USA in language and activities.

Mind the Gap 2 

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on GOOGLE

Conwy Castle Notes from 2022

There a number of facilities- see the website

There is a range of fees.

We got a discount with our English Heritage Card

Google Map  Link 

We used the Transport for Wales railway from Holyhead to Conwy

  There is a direct train to Conwy Castle.

  Because of our time, we went to nearby Llandudno Junction, which is less than a mile from the Castle.

Castle address

Conwy Castle
Rose Hill St, Conwy LL32 8AY

Weymouth, England, UK

 We visited Weymouth on 11 August, 2022. Our ship docked at Portland and we took the local shuttle bus into picturesque Weymouth, which in a fabulous seaside town with a wide sandy beach.

As we walked along the inlet, I was reminded this is part of England's Jurassic Coast--nearly 100 miles of gorgeous scenery. I want to go back.

So, there's a drawbridge, which I just got off in time to avoid sliding down. I'm not making this up.

Over the bridge are the shops, which are inviting to some.

This fossil shop made me think of one of my granddaughters' interests.

It so happens, King George III, not a favourite royal of Americans, was well-liked here for his support of the town. A replica of his beach wagon is in a central place along side a monument by the beach.

Honouring King George III

If you don't want to walk, there's a land train.

I'm not sure how my panorama of this spot will look on your screen. Anyway, here are a couple at the edge of town and by the beach. You can see better images in the video below.

It was a hot day so we stopped for ice cream, which dripped faster than I could enjoy it. I noticed the locals were enjoying hot coffee on a sweltering day.

I put together a video from clips of the town and beach. You'll see how people enjoy the seaside, what they wear, and the music and sounds of a summer's day at the seaside.

The video is a bit over 4 minutes so, choose a fast play mode if you just want a glimpse. 

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YouTube for more travel photos and videos.

Also, please check out my webpage suttong.com

After leaving Weymouth, I stopped off at the D-Day centre and Portland Castle.