Balaclava Bay is a bay situated on the edge of Portland Harbour, where the breakwater meets the island, at the northern end of the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct fr ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, in southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The bay is part of the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...

, a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The bay is overlooked by the Victorian

East Weare Battery East Weare Battery is a former 19th-century gun battery to the east of the Verne Citadel on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The battery was built in the 1860s as a result of the Royal Commission to guard the new Portland harbour and R ...

, 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 Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

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 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