TOURS of an 84ft tower in Weymouth offering wide-reaching views have proved popular.

All Saints Church in Wyke Regis ran its first two tours of the church tower last month which were well attended by both visitors to the area and Wyke locals.

The next tours will run on Saturday, August 12.

The All Saints church tower, which looks out over Lyme Bay, has served as a landmark from land and sea for many centuries.

There have been bells at All Saints since its consecration, when the four bells that hung there were blessed by Bishop Beauchamp.

In 1522 the bells were confiscated by the crown. Then in 1614 the first bell was replaced, by a treble made by Warre of Salisbury. This was added to by a third in 1617 and a 2nd in 1723. In 1891 the bells were recast into the present ring of eight bells by John Taylor of Loughborough.

There is now an enthusiastic band of ringers which practices weekly on Tuesday evenings and rings the bells before the main Sunday service.

Tours of the tower are £5 per person (book online at parishofwykeregis.org.uk/events) and take about 45 minutes.