The Chesil Beach and Fleet Lagoon
The Chesil Beach is an 18 mile (29km) long deposit of shingle running from Portland to Abbotsbury and situated within easy driving distance of Weymouth in Dorset. It forms a large lagoon known as the Fleet on its shoreward side; it’s this lagoon that the Fleet Observer explores.
The Chesil Beach and Fleet Lagoon are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. At its widest the Chesil Beach is 200 metre wide and 18 metre high which is fortunate for the local towns and villages as it provides protection from the fierce wind and waves of the English Channel. The Fleet is 8 miles (13km) long and covers an area of 480 hectares (thats 600 football pitches).
Chesil gets its name from the old English ‘ceosil’ meaning shingle, and Fleet from the Saxon word ‘fleot’ meaning shallow water.