Ranters Lodge Artist's Studio/Cottage on Chesil Beach

Chiswell, Portland, Dorset DT5 1AW
tel +44(0)1305 822 096
mobile +44(0)7887 945 034

Ranters Lodge and the Dead House lie 30 metres from the sea. Formerly a fishing store and a boat house, they have been converted into two self-contained artist's studios with accommodation for 2/3 people each. Normally only Ranters Lodge is rented.

Artist's Studio

Ranters Lodge consists of 2 floors approximately 6 x 7.5 metres. The upper floor has a sleeping platform. All walls are whitewashed, the floors wood and concrete with rugs. On the ground floor there are two large tables and a small kitchen that has a fridge, a mini electric cooker and a small microwave. On the first floor there is a further area with a large, nearly north skylight, a day bed plus the bathroom which has a sitting bath with a shower. The sleeping platform has a "natural Marks and Spencer" 5ft mattress. There is gas central heating throughout. Outside there is a courtyard garden with tables, chairs, and a small barbecue.

Rental

Gallery Bedroom

Ranters Lodge is available to rent inclusive of heating at £265 per week, or £40 per night, (minimum three nights), except from July until middle of September, at Christmas and at Easter when rent is £400 per week or £60 per night (minimum of three nights.) Longer lets are available. Please phone to discuss a price.

Linen and towels are available for an extra £12 per person. There is an extra charge if constant heat is required.

For price and availability for the period 28 July - 11 August 2012 please email jcfrost@dialstart.net

Please telephone Judith Frost on +44 (0) 1305 822 096 (telephone) or +44 (0) 7887 945 034 (mobile) or email jcfrost@dialstart.net for further information and availability. A 20% deposit is required to secure booking.

Access

West Weares

Ranters Lodge is easily reached by public transport from London Waterloo. There is a twice hourly service taking approximately 2 hours 45 minutes to Weymouth. There is also a train service from Bristol to Weymouth. From Weymouth train station there are taxis or a short walk to outside the bus depot where there is a very regular bus service to Portland (No. 1 bus to Victoria Square.) Then there is a short walk to Ranters Lodge.

Ranters Lodge is 140 miles (224km) from London and approximately 200 miles (320km) from Dover. There is private parking in front of the buildings.

Location

Chesil Beach

Chesil Beach

Chiswell, part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, is at the eastern end of Chesil beach, an 18 mile bank of stones connecting Portland to the mainland. Portland is well known mainly for its stone, used to rebuild London after the great fire in the 17th Century. It is also the "Isle of Slingers" in Thomas Hardy's novel The Well Beloved. It has many places that have an extraordinary charm and unusual beauty. West Weares, a spectacular walk where quarried stone tumbles into the sea, is a two minute walk from the studio, and Tout Quarry, a site of scientific Interest are just two examples. You can swim on calm days in the corner of Chesil Bay. There is also diving off Chesil Beach and in Portland Harbour, windsurfing and sailing. A yacht club opened in 2004 in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. Close to the studios are the following: a café, an award-winning restaurant, a fresh fish shop, and the Cove House Inn. It is a five minute walk to Fortuneswell where there is a chemist, a Post Office, a supermarket, a new deli/off licence, and an Indian and a Chinese "take-away" restaurant.

Portland is situated in the centre of the Dorset coastline, 4 miles from Weymouth, a traditional English seaside resort, with a sandy beach. It is within easy reach of the East Dorset Coast, including the Isle of Purbeck, which has a wild, rocky and diverse coastline, and West Dorset which has Chesil Beach, followed by fossil rich cliffs and a spectacular landscape dotted with ancient monuments.