Fleet Facts
swans from Abbotsbury Swannery are regular visitors to the fleet and will be happy to be fed scraps
many other birds are visitors to the fleet at different times of the year
The Bouncing Bomb (of the dam busters fame) was tested in the fleet
the fleet lagoon is flanked by chesil beach for 18 miles from portland (where the pebbles are of the largest size) to West Bay (where the
pebbles are of the smallest size) on the other side of chesil beach is Lyme Bay
it is said that if a local fisherman was too land on chesil beach in thick fog he could tell from the size of the pebbles where he had
landed
chesil beach is 200 meteres wide at its widest and 18 meteres high and provides a natural wind break to the winds of the english channel
Chesil is derived from old english "ceosil" meaning shingle and Fleet from the Saxon word "Fleot" meaning shallow water
the water of the fleet runs for around 8 miles and covers the size of about 600 football pitches, it is 2 metres deep at it shallowest to 5
meteres at its deepest
the fleet is connect to the sea at Ferrybridge on the road to Portland
The Fleet is an important area for wildlife and has received the following designations:
- Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
- Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive
- A Ramsar site
- Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- Designated bass nursery area
species list
Crustacea
Fish
Birds see link at bottom of the page that opens
Did you know :-
Portland Harbour is manmade
The London 2012 Olympics are going to use Portland Harbour as the venue
for their sailing events.
many of the Team GB sailors have used the sailing facilities at
portland.
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