The World of West Bay
We are not alone!
West Bay, Dorset
Our West Bay in Dorset is quite young. It was born in around 1884
thanks to the Great Western Railway's vision of transforming (and renaming) Bridport Harbour into a
seaside holiday resort. However, there are other land and water based West Bays, one of which is close by.
Chesil Beach / Portland Isle, Dorset
A small portion of Lyme Bay at its eastern end, where the Chesil Beach meets Portland Isle (Chesil Cove)
is called West Bay. Perhaps this is where the Great Western Railway found its inspiration for the
naming of our West Bay. Interestingly, the only other foothold that the Great Western Railway had in
what was at the time a stronghold area for the London and South Western Railway was Weymouth, just east of
Portland Isle. However, some old 19th Century maps refer to the stretch of sea at Bridport Harbour
as West Bay, so perhaps making the renaming of the area an obvious choice.
Kent
A small stretch of beach and community at the western end of Westgate-on-Sea is known as West Bay. This is on the
North Kent coast about 3 miles west of Margate.
Scotland
West Bay exists in the Firth of Clyde in West Scotland.
This is an area of water between the towns of Dunoon and Gourock, just west of Greenock.
West Bay is a sandy beach at the seaside town of North Berwick in East Lothian. Located about 25 miles east of Edinburgh, there is also a 12th Century harbour and a 'West Bay Road'. It is said that the Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) found inspiration here and on the nearby Island of Fidra to write 'Treasure Island' in 1883.
West Bay is an area and beautiful beach on the southern Island of Vatersay in the Outer Hebrides.
Ireland
There is a stretch of exclusive beach called West Bay at Portrush on the north coast of Northern Ireland, just north of Coleraine.
Abroad
Grand Cayman (part of the U.K. owned Cayman Islands)
Situated in the north western Caribbean Sea. West Bay is
just north of Seven Mile Beach. A popular stop on island tours, a community exist there called 'Hell'. A local Post Office sends off
postcards with the obligitory 'Hell' postmark. Their 'West Bay Road' runs alongside the sea at Seven Mile Beach, linking West Bay to
George Town. An island wide festival / carnival is celebrated annually during the last week in October, called 'Pirates Week'.
Honduras (Central America)
On the Isla de Roatán (an island) situated in the Gulf of Honduras and part of the
Western Caribbean Sea is the town of Roatán. West Bay Village and Beach appears to be a holiday location within Roatán itself.
Canada
Nova Scotia. A town called West Bay exists on the western shore of Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island.
West Bay Beach Resort by Okanagan Lake, six miles west of Kelowna in south western Canada.
West Bay Marine Village near Victoria on Vancouver Island, in south western Canada.
United States of America
Florida, by the north eastern shores of the Gulf of Mexico, close to Panama City.
On the shore of a lake called West Bay, which is open to the sea is a town called Westbay.
Texas, by the north western shores of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 50 miles south of Houston and just west of Galveston is part of a lake called West Bay, open to the sea.
West Bay is a small northern bay in the Gulf of Mexico, at the southwestern mouth of the Mississippi River, approximately 50 miles southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana.
West Bay in Grand Traverse Bay which is itself in north east Lake Michigan.
San Francisco, by San Francisco Bay is West Bay Opera, founded by Henry Holt who started his career in Vienna in the 1930's. The eastern regions of the San Francisco Peninsula are often referred to as West Bay, including much of Santa Clara and San Mateo.
Rhode Island, between New York and Boston. West Bay is the area of Rhode Island which hugs the western shores of Narragansett Bay, by the city of Warwick and known as the "Miracle Mile" of shopping.
West Bay Marina, near Olympia in the state of Washington, 50 miles southwest of Seattle. The area includes a West Bay Drive and West Bay Park.
Australia
West Bay on Kangaroo Island, off the southern coast of Australia, approximately 75 miles south west of Adelaide.
Tasmania. West Bay is a small bay at the western end of Ralphs Bay, just east of the Derwent Estuary, about 12 km / 8 miles south-east of Hobart
New Zealand
West Bay is a small bay off the west coast of Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Located at the northern area
of the North Island of New Zealand, approximately 20 miles northeast of Auckland.
Antarctic
West Bay is a small bay on the west coast of the uninhabited 'Heard Island'.
Qatar
In the Persian Gulf, near Bahrain and part of the United Arab Emirates, West Bay is
the name of an area in the capital, Doha, where there is also West Bay Lagoon.
To be continued...
