Balaclava Bay is a bay situated on the edge of

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains ...

, where the breakwater meets the island, at the northern end of the

Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, in southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The bay is overlooked by the Victorian East Weare Battery, built in the 1860s to protect the harbour. The nearest road within the dockyard of Portland Port is named Balaclava Road.

Background

The bay was created in Victorian times by the construction of the inner breakwater at Portland Harbour. The bay is within the boundary of Portland Port, and is accessible by kayaks and boats, while divers often use the bay. One wreck, known as the Dredger, lies within the sheltered bay. In January 2010, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council passed plans for a power station at Portland Port, which was to generate electricity by burning

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

from Indonesia. The power station was due to be situated at Balaclava Bay. The company W4B were unable to finance the plant. The plant plan received much objection from local citizens, and saw the formation of the protest organisation "No Oil Palm Energy" (NOPE). During the Second World War a number of anti-invasion structures were placed at Balaclava Bay, constructed between 1940-41. An anti boat landing obstacle was laid offshore, compromising of a line of stone boulders. On the shore a minefield was laid, using mine 'B', type 'C', forming part of the Dorset coast defences and the Isle of Portland defences. It had been cleared by 1946. A little further south was a coast artillery searchlight. Another coast artillery searchlight, constructed during 1940-41, was situated further south of this.

References

{{Jurassic Coast Bays of Dorset Isle of Portland Jurassic Coast