Volunteers at the West Bay Discovery Centre celebrated the centre's fifth birthday this week with a party.

They were joined by the Mayor of Bridport, Cllr David Bolwell, who helped present certificates to a number of long-serving volunteers.

Trustee for the centre, John West, said: "We have a great team of volunteers and almost half of them have been with us since we opened in 2018.

"Although all our volunteers are important to us, we wanted to particularly recognise those 17 who have been volunteering from the beginning." 

Based in the former Methodist chapel on the edge of West Bay beach, the centre uses interactive experiences to make learning about West Bay fun for all ages.

It offers changing themed exhibitions and aims to provide the latest local information, with a busy programme of talks, guided walks, and events.    

The Discovery Centre heard this week that it has been shortlisted in the Green/Eco Business category of the West Dorset Gold Awards for businesses who were winners in Dorchester Weymouth, Lyme Regis and Bridport area business awards.

It has also previously won bronze for small visitor attraction in the Dorset Tourism Awards 2021/22, Gold in the Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable category in the South West England Tourism Excellence Awards 2021/22, as well as bronze in the same category at the Visit England Awards for Excellence 2022.

Mr West added: "We are currently reaching our busiest time of the year with lots of visitors coming into the centre and so are looking to expand our the volunteer team."

Anyone who is interested in finding out more can get in touch with them at [email protected] or just drop into the centre.

For more information, visit https://www.westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk/