An iconic Weymouth landmark has welcomed back guests following a grand reopening event.

Before reopening to the general public on Saturday, Nothe Fort held a celebration on Friday evening to thank all the people who had so generously supported the Nothe Fort fundraising campaign on Crowdfunder and to show them the changes that had been made.

"We wanted to celebrate the beginning of Weymouth’s journey on the road to recovery," said James Farquharson, chairman of the iconic Weymouth landmark.

Among the guests in attendance were Lord Lieutenant of Dorset Angus Campbell, Mayor of Weymouth Cllr Graham Winter, Dorset Council chairman Cllr Pauline Batstone and Keith Holiday, who is chairman of the Weymouth Civic Society.

In order to reopen a fundraising page was set up so that the fort could undertake essential alterations to the museum’s entrance and display areas. The work included barriers at the entrance, signage at Nothe Gardens and in the Fort, portable hand-sanitizer stations, as well as alterations to the ticket desks, entrance and exhibition areas to allow social distancing

As well as these safety improvements, Nothe Fort has also recently created a new roof terrace which offers incredible views over Weymouth Bay. At the event on Friday, new stone carved benches on the terrace were unveiled by Paul Atterbury, known for his many appearances on Antiques Roadshow.

Mary-Anne Edwards, co-general manager at the Nothe Fort, was delighted with the event and Saturday's full reopening. She said: "We have been working at length to ensure that visitors have a safe and enjoyable visit.

"We had an amazing turnout at our celebration event, because we are one of the first tourist attractions to open up again after Covid.

"We are one of the most important historical attractions in Dorset so it's really important that we open well and we help send a great message out to the community and visitors of Weymouth.

"By reopening safely we are leading by example and helping the community and town as a major tourist attraction.

"To reopen has cost quite a bit of money that was raised in the Crowdfunder but we need a really good season or we are going to run out of money by next summer."

To help its visitors during this period, Nothe Fort is extending existing annual passes by three months and any new tickets will provide free entry for the rest of this year and all of next year as well.