Like most places in England, Weymouth has a long and proud history. It was established as a settlement in the mid 12th century, brought the Black Death to England in the 1300s, and during the English civil war was the scene of the 1645 Crabchurch Conspiracy that resulted in the loss of 250 lives.

These days though, the seaside town is famed as a tourist destination, and for this, the locals can thank King George III and his brother, the Duke of Gloucester. The Duke, in his benevolent wisdom, built himself a little place there called Gloucester Lodge and spent the winter of 1780 in it.

Nine years later, the King started turning up and famously made Weymouth his summer destination of choice on no less than 14 occasions. Soon, Weymouth hosted a conglomerate of the rich and famous making it one of the first modern holiday destinations.

Interestingly enough, King George believed the waters of Weymouth held restorative powers. In the interests of his health, he’d venture out to sea in his bathing machine to take a dip.

While it’s doubtful the King’s swimming habits did anything for his constitution, it turns out he was more than a just monarch and something of an accidental prophet. Weymouth will soon receive another turn in the spotlight as the sailing venue for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

What the King didn’t know is that Weymouth Bay and the neighbouring Portland Harbour provide ideal sailing conditions for competition, making it the perfect choice for the Olympic sailing events.

Sheltered from large waves and currents, the competition can take place relatively close to shore, allowing spectators a live view of the action in a sport notorious for its inability to provide decent viewing for fans.

Consequently, Weymouth is undergoing something of a renaissance in anticipation of the event. The Games have prompted new residential and commercial developments and provided the local community with a world-class sailing facility, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

During the Games, the town in Dorset is expected to benefit from a tourism surge and a healthy boost to the local economy. Visitors coming for the Games will also be entertained with an arts festival as part of a four-year ‘Cultural Olympiad’.

The town that took fourth place behind Rosario in Argentina in a 2010 vote for most popular emerging global destination is clearly on the rise.

Since the King’s time, Weymouth (England’s ‘Bay of Naples’), has successfully established itself as a popular coastal destination for tourists, boasting some lively shopping and beaches that attract thousands of visitors. Among the standout events that Weymouth hosts each year is the international kite festival, attracting upwards of 40,000 spectators.

Accordingly, Weymouth has one of the warmest climates in all of England (highly prized in the land where the sun don’t shine), and has correspondingly mild winters.

The Duke’s Gloucester Lodge (which was later purchased by the King), still stands on the main esplanade among rows of handsomely crafted Georgian terraces that have been restored and converted into a mix of hotels, shops and guest houses.

Back in 1870, it took George weeks to make the journey to Weymouth from the capital. Now it takes just three hours to reach from London by car or train (the latter is wonderfully easy and requires no changes all the way to or from Victoria station).

There’s a host of places to stay, but during my time there I was lucky enough to be put up at the B&B Weymouth. Offering guests modern, four-star accommodation, the owners claim to have re-written the rules on bed and breakfast accommodation for the 21st century, and they’ve done a pretty good job of it.

They say location is everything, and the B+B Weymouth sits opposite the beach, 10 minutes from the train station and an easy walk into town. Dinner can also be served upon request and if you like pork belly, it’s a sure bet.

One of the B&B’s best assets is its lounge area. The hostel-like atmosphere allows guests to mingle (and perhaps take in a life-or-death game of charades), while sampling some of the locally sourced offerings.

Pleasingly, there’s more to Weymouth than the main drag and the beach, and one of the best ways to take it all in is on a bike (and you’ll never be stuck for one either, as bike rental is something of a booming trade in the coastal town).

The group I travelled with was taken on a guided tour by Loop Walsh of Weymouth Bike Hire, an accomplished cyclist and something of a local historian.

The tour took in local wetlands, an impossibly picturesque village by the name of Sutton Poyntz, a fast ride along the coast and a stop at the Osmington White Horse – a figure of King George III carved into the limestone of Osmington hill in 1808. It stands an impressive 280 feet long and 323 feet high.

Before we turned for home, Loop had charmed all with a tale concerning a publican who earned the wrath of the locals by banishing their much-loved duck population for fear of rats. That was years ago and they’ve boycotted his establishment ever since.

Loop also made a point of stopping at some stables containing Weymouth’s donkeys – a reminder of long ago, when things were simpler, and one of life’s greatest joys was hopping on a bike and going for a ride to who-knows-where with a group of friends.

Ducks and donkeys aside, Weymouth is renowned as a gateway town to the World Heritage listed Jurassic Coast, a 150-kilometre stretch of beaches, bays and cliffs from Dorset to Devon.

Recording 185 million years of history, it consists of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs spanning the Mesozoic era - a walker’s paradise containing a myriad of landforms and fossils that are best collected when the weather’s bad and landslides have exposed ‘new’ sections of earth.

We visited Lyme Regis in West Dorset. Here, fossil finding equipment is sold as commonly as the fossils themselves and a walk along the beach holds the promise of discovering the remnants of a different age.

The area surrounding Lyme Regis was the site of many of the earliest discoveries of dinosaur remains, particularly those of the Jurassic period, a time from which good specimens are rare and greatly valued.

Some of the most famous finds were made by the now noted fossil collector Mary Anning, who searched in the Blue Lias Cliffs.

Coming from a poor family and the victim of gender bias, Anning was a religious dissenter who went unrecognised in her own time. Today she is considered an influential figure in the history of science and a key contributor to scientific thinking about prehistoric life.

I get the feeling that if she had crossed paths with the King she might have told him his excursions into the saltwater were a waste of time.

Getting there: British Airways flies to London from around $2055 return. From London, Weymouth is three hours by car or train.

Staying there: The B+B Weymouth is located in the heart of town and the dinner menu is available upon request at $30 per person.

Getting around: Get in touch with Loop at Weymouth Bike Hire. They offer six different routes or they’ll customize a tour to suit.

Treat yourself: Pop into Perry’s, Weymouth’s only Michelin-starred restaurant. Sit back and indulge whilst taking in the view overlooking Weymouth’s harbour.

Go for gold: Book a sailing trip with Quality Time and experience the Olympic venue first-hand.
‘’The writer travelled as a guest of Visit Britain.’’