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An 8 hour cruise around Lyme Bay and back, our expert tour guide, Tom, outlined the day and route to us before departing Weymouth Harbour. Sailing past a couple of the moored cruise ships we encountered Bottlenose Dolphins around one. Tom was constantly scouring the sea for cetaceans and seabirds for us and an Arctic Skua was soon pointed out, followed by Storm Petrels, Balearic Shearwaters and Great Skuas in due course. Highlights were a pod of 15 White-beaked Dolphins bow-riding the boat, giving us awesome views and over 700 Gannets diving for fish. Our skipper, Luke, was brilliant at positioning the boat, affording us the best & closest angle, but always respectful to the wildlife. Most, if not all of the target species were seen, which made for a thoroughly enjoyable and exciting day, so much so that we are already going to book up for another trip next year.
R.R Somerset, Aug 21
Weymouth Pelagic: Dolphins, Shearwaters & Petrels (Day Trip)
Tour Code: GBR230A day out at sea on a chartered vessel searching for Dorset's coastal bird and marine-life.
£150
Highlights
Summary
Join an expert naturalist aboard a chartered vessel as we explore the wildlife-rich waters of Lyme Bay, Dorset. From Weymouth Harbour, we are perfectly positioned to head straight out and enjoy the many seabirds which gather off the Isle of Portland. These waters are also well known for their cetaceans and, over the course of the day, we hope to encounter both Common Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise. White-beaked Dolphin are regular too and with luck we might enjoy watching a small pod of these delightful dolphins bow-riding our vessel. Birds are well represented in these waters, with both Manx and Mediterranean Shearwaters and European Storm Petrels amongst the possible highlights, along with Gannets, Kittiwakes, auks and Great Skuas. There is always the possibility of something rarer and, in the past, Ocean Sunfish, Basking Sharks and even the occasional Thresher Shark have been observed here.
Start time is 9am and we aim to finish the day between 4pm and 5pm.
- Comfortable, well-equipped, small charter boat with an experienced skipper and onboard refreshments
- Common, Bottlenose and White-beaked Dolphin all possible, as well as Harbour Porpoise
- Manx and Mediterranean Shearwaters
- European Storm Petrels feeding close to the boat
- 2023 saw many Great Shearwaters
- The boat has indoor and outdoor seating, coffee and tea making facilities, and toilets
- Led by an experienced Naturetrek tour leader
Day Trip Location
Reviews
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An adventure in a day, covering 70 sea miles in 7.5 hours to witness three species of porpoise/dolphins off our bow and pelagic sea birds species in large numbers rarely seen easily from the shore. A fine vessel, skipper, expert guide and weather. A magical outing. This is our fifth holiday with Naturetrek. We have others planned. All are superbly organised and guided, and the large number of species of wildlife witnessed is unsurpassed.
A.S. Isle of Wight, Aug 21
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Tom Brereton
Tom has had a lifelong passion for all forms of natural history, and a varied career in wildlife research and nature conservation spanning the last 15 years. After graduating in Environmental Science, Tom spent several years working for the RSPB on a number of bird, botanical and invertebrate survey and research projects. Following an MSc in Conservation at University College, he worked as an independent ecological consultant specialising in botanical surveys. Tom returned to academia in 1993, to complete a PhD on the ecology and conservation of the Grizzled Skipper butterfly. Tom currently works for Butterfly Conservation, as a monitoring and species ecologist, but remains an enthusiastic all-round naturalist, through extensive travel and involvement in a number of voluntary wildlife projects. Tom is active in local botanical, insect and bird surveys, and pursues his interest in seabirds and cetaceans as a founding director of the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (now Marinelife), which carries out research, conservation and educational work in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay.
Tour Leader: Tom Brereton
Tom has had a lifelong passion for all forms of natural history, and a varied career in wildlife research and nature conservation spanning the last 15 years. After graduating in Environmental Science, Tom spent several years working for the RSPB on a number of bird, botanical and invertebrate survey and research projects. Following an MSc in Conservation at University College, he worked as an independent ecological consultant specialising in botanical surveys. Tom returned to academia in 1993, to complete a PhD on the ecology and conservation of the Grizzled Skipper butterfly. Tom currently works for Butterfly Conservation, as a monitoring and species ecologist, but remains an enthusiastic all-round naturalist, through extensive travel and involvement in a number of voluntary wildlife projects. Tom is active in local botanical, insect and bird surveys, and pursues his interest in seabirds and cetaceans as a founding director of the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (now Marinelife), which carries out research, conservation and educational work in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay.
Tour Leader: Tom Brereton
Tom has had a lifelong passion for all forms of natural history, and a varied career in wildlife research and nature conservation spanning the last 15 years. After graduating in Environmental Science, Tom spent several years working for the RSPB on a number of bird, botanical and invertebrate survey and research projects. Following an MSc in Conservation at University College, he worked as an independent ecological consultant specialising in botanical surveys. Tom returned to academia in 1993, to complete a PhD on the ecology and conservation of the Grizzled Skipper butterfly. Tom currently works for Butterfly Conservation, as a monitoring and species ecologist, but remains an enthusiastic all-round naturalist, through extensive travel and involvement in a number of voluntary wildlife projects. Tom is active in local botanical, insect and bird surveys, and pursues his interest in seabirds and cetaceans as a founding director of the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (now Marinelife), which carries out research, conservation and educational work in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay.
Tour Leader: Tom Brereton
Tom has had a lifelong passion for all forms of natural history, and a varied career in wildlife research and nature conservation spanning the last 15 years. After graduating in Environmental Science, Tom spent several years working for the RSPB on a number of bird, botanical and invertebrate survey and research projects. Following an MSc in Conservation at University College, he worked as an independent ecological consultant specialising in botanical surveys. Tom returned to academia in 1993, to complete a PhD on the ecology and conservation of the Grizzled Skipper butterfly. Tom currently works for Butterfly Conservation, as a monitoring and species ecologist, but remains an enthusiastic all-round naturalist, through extensive travel and involvement in a number of voluntary wildlife projects. Tom is active in local botanical, insect and bird surveys, and pursues his interest in seabirds and cetaceans as a founding director of the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (now Marinelife), which carries out research, conservation and educational work in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay.
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
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