The Spirit of Portland Festival is a week-long series of events which is held every year as a celebration of Portland’s unique heritage, culture and natural environment.
This year the festival was held from 27th July through to the 5th August, and included a garden party, an interpretative walk of Tout Quarry Sculpture Park, an archaeological dig, a boat trip of the fleet and an opportunity to meet Portland Port as just a few examples of what was on offer.
Portland Port opened the Grade II Listed mid-C19 Engine Shed on 1st August as an opportunity for the local community to see inside and find out more about the port. The building’s history is interesting in that comprises three locomotive sheds built to serve the Admiralty Incline Railway, transporting stone from the Admiralty Quarries to Portland Harbour for the construction of breakwaters.
Inside the Engine Shed there were informative display boards about the port, along with a range of artefacts inside and outside, from dinosaur footprints and a circa 1875 canon to an emergency wreck marking buoy and the Harbour Masters rib.
There was a steady stream of visitors throughout the day who got to speak with port employees, have a look around and enjoy the refreshments which were provided by The Friends of the Grove Telephone Box.
The area around the Engine Shed will be in use again from 8th – 15th September for the B-Side festival when there will be performative bronze casting taking place up there; visit the B-Side Festival website for more details.
Admin: 15th Aug 2018 12:25:00
The port currently has a vacancy for a full time Security Officer. Click on this story for more details.
Admin: 22nd Mar 2024 12:47:00