Top rainy day activities in Weymouth

Weymouth is one of the best places in the UK for a family summer holiday. It has a beautiful sandy beach and lots to do. However, the weather in the UK can often be rainy, even in the summer! So if it’s too rainy to be outside, here at the top rainy day activities in Weymouth.

Weymouth is one of the most popular family holiday destinations on the south coast of the UK. There’s a wide range of places to stay and things to do. When the weather is nice in the summer, Weymouth and the surrounding area is just beautiful. You can spend time on Weymouth’s large, sandy beach. Or you can travel to nearby Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove for coastal walks that take in some of the best scenery in the UK. It’s a beautiful part of the UK. However, the UK weather doesn’t always cooperate! Even in the summer, there can be rainy days. And the beach and coastal walks are never as much fun in the rain. So if you’re looking for some ideas of indoor activities that can be enjoyed in bad weather, keep reading. Here are the top rainy day activities in Weymouth.

1. Sea Life Centre, Weymouth

The first of my top rainy day activities in Weymouth is the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth. This aquarium is a great rainy day activity. There’s lots to do here, and a lot of it is inside. However, this aquarium isn’t completely inside – there are several outdoor areas, and also places where you need to walk outside between different sections. So make sure you bring a coat if there’s heavy rain!

There are lots of different sections of the aquarium which focus on different habitats in the oceans. One of my favourite was the coral reefs area, with the colourful corals and fish.

The seahorses and sea dragons were great too, and the eels and lionfish.

In some of the outdoor areas there were penguins, seals and otters. I particularly enjoyed seeing the seals. You could see them from outside, and you could also go down to a viewing area to see the seals swimming underwater. They looked so confident and at home in the water.

The tunnel was also a highlight of the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth. You could walk through a tunnel, with the water over your head. Fish and sharks would be swimming right over you. And there were two huge turtles as well. It was amazing to see the turtles swimming so close. The Sea Life Centre in Weymouth is definitely one of the top rainy day activities in Weymouth.

2. Sandworld

The next of my top rainy day activities in Weymouth is Sandworld. Sandworld is open throughout the summer, and it’s mostly undercover so it’s a great place to visit on a rainy day.

The sand sculptures at Sandworld in Weymouth are truly impressive. They change most of the sculptures each year, so each year you can see completely different sculptures. Most of the sand sculptures are of popular culture icons that both children and adults will recognise.

There was a large Doctor Who sand sculpture. And there was also Star Trek, and Star Wars.

There was a huge Predator vs Alien sand sculpture. And several dinosaurs as well.

And there was a large sculpture of various Disney characters, and also a huge Dumbo sculpture as well.

There was also a Bible scene, and Darwin’s evolution theory, and a Pharaoh with the Egyptian pyramids.

As well as the sand sculptures, there are also large sand pits at Sandworld where children and adults can have a go at making their own sand sculpture. It’s definitely not easy! Families with children could spend hours here, as there’s lots of sand and various buckets, spades and toys to play with in the sand. If the weather is too rainy to play in the sand at the beach, then children can play in the sand at Sand World.

3. Weymouth Town and Harbour

The next of the top rainy day activities in Weymouth is to spend some time in Weymouth town and harbour. Weymouth is a really pretty town and you can enjoy walking around the town, even in the rain.

There are lovely views across the harbour from the bridge. I enjoyed seeing all the fishing boats as well as the colourful houses. Even on a grey, rainy day the harbour was still nice and colourful.

Make sure you check out any events that are happening in Weymouth. In the summer, there are often events and things on in the town. When I visited, there was a tall ship from Spain in the harbour for a few weeks. The Galeon Andalucia is a replica of an 18th century Spanish ship. It’s really impressive, and you can pay to go on board and have a look around to learn more about the ship.

There are lots of shops in Weymouth town. In the town centre, you can find a lot of chain shops if you want to do some shopping. There are also some cute, smaller streets in Weymouth with more independent shops. These cute streets feel like stepping back in time, and you can browse for unique souvenirs as well as some tasty things to eat.

Even in the rain, you can still enjoy traditional British fish and chips. Weymouth has a great selection of fish and chip take aways and restaurants. I recommend Marlboro, which has a decent size seating area so you can sit in the restaurant and eat inside. The portions of fish and chips are huge, with a great choice of sides as well. Eating fish and chips is definitely one of the top rainy day activities in Weymouth.

4. Monkey World

Just a 20 minute drive from Weymouth is Monkey World. This monkey sanctuary has a wide range of monkeys and apes. All the animals in the sanctuary are rescued, often from the illegal pet trade. You can read the stories of all the monkeys and apes. It’s really sad to read some of the stories and learn about some of the hardships these beautiful animals have gone through. So many have been abused by humans, or given drugs, or lost a limb. But Monkey World seems like a really lovely place for these monkeys and apes to live now. They now live in sociable groups, with large enclosures and loads of enrichment activities. The sanctuary does amazing work for the monkeys.

A highlight of visiting Monkey World is the orangutans. There are several enclosures with small groups of orangutans. They are such beautiful, intelligent animals. It’s lovely to watch them explore their enclosure, interact with each other, eat nice food, and also just relax.

There was also a sleepy orangutan who everyone fell in love with. She was just resting near the glass with her blanket over her head. Even in a short visit, you could start to see the individual characters of these amazing creatures.

The chimpanzees are another highlight of Monkey World. The chimps live in bigger groups, and are often quite noisy and active. You can spend ages watching the various groups of chimps and see what they get up to.

The smaller monkeys and gibbons are lovely as well. There’s a lot to see at Monkey World. You can easily spend many hours here. There are cafes and picnic areas as well. It’s a great place to visit for all ages.

5. Corfe Castle

Another of the top rainy day activities in Weymouth is Corfe Castle. It’s a 20-30 minute drive from Weymouth, but still easy to get to. Corfe Castle is the ruins of a castle. The castle was built shortly after the Norman conquest in 1066. It was used in the centuries afterwards by various kings and queens and noble families.

Corfe Castle was partially destroyed during the English Civil War in the 17th century. Now, you can visit the ruins of the castle. There’s still plenty there to be able to see a lot of the outlines of the rooms. And there are useful information signs around Corfe Castle where you can learn about the history. Corfe Castle also has great views over the surrounding Dorset countryside.

Corfe Castle is also the name of the small, cute village that’s right next to the castle. The village is definitely worth a visit as well. It’s a really cute, historical visit with lots of cute thatched cottages. The sweet shop in Corfe Castle is great, selling lots of traditional sweets and fudge. There are also pubs and other places to get food in Corfe Castle village.

6. Portland Bill Lighthouse

The last of my top rainy day activities in Weymouth is Portland Bill Lighthouse. Portland Bill Lighthouse is about a 20 minute drive south of Weymouth. You drive past the famous Chesil Beach – which is a great place to visit on a sunny day.

Portland Bill Lighthouse is right on the end of the Isle of Portland. The area outside the lighthouse is fairly exposed – it’s on the cliffs of the end of the island. So it might not be ideal to visit on a really windy day! But if there’s just a bit of rain, you can still enjoy the area. There’s plenty of parking and also a cafe.

You can go inside the visitor centre at Portland Bill Lighthouse. Here, you can learn more about the history of the lighthouse. You can also join a guided tour to climb up to the top of the lighthouse. There are a lot of steps, but it’s fairly manageable for anyone with basic levels of fitness.

Outside the lighthouse, there are lovely views out to sea, and also lovely views of the lighthouse. And make sure you keep looking out to sea to see if you can spot any wildlife. You can often spot birds, seals and dolphins from the cliffs around Portland Bill Lighthouse. I was super lucky and saw a seal in the water quite close to the shore. And then, slightly further out to sea, I saw dolphins! It was amazing to stand on the cliffs and watch the dolphins.

Dolphins at Portland Bill Lighthouse, Weymouth

If the weather clears up, you can do some lovely coastal walks around the Isle of Portland from Portland Bill Lighthouse. But even on a rainy day, you can still enjoy the views and then head into the cafe and visitor centre to try off. It’s a beautiful part of the UK, and another of the top rainy day activities in Weymouth.

7. Visit Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove

This last option is definitely best saved for a sunny day. The coastline around Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove is just stunning. It’s one of my favourite places in the UK. I’ve visited this area on some beautiful sunny days and the views are amazing. But even if it’s raining, these places are still worth visiting. You can park at Durdle Door and walk to Lulworth Cove in about 40 minutes. You just might not want to swim in the sea in heavy rain!