Dogger, west or south-west four or five, occasional rain. Well. German Bow, five or six in a northwesterly direction, sometimes seven at the beginning…”
These are the strange but familiar musings of the BBC Radio 4 announcers who read out the shipping forecast issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency four times a day, but most romantically at around 40 minutes after midnight.
The Weather Forecast was first broadcast on radio on the then BBC Home Service 100 years ago this week and is much more than just a weather service for fishermen and freighters. It’s a journey around the remote, foam-covered edges of the British Isles and beyond; It’s best to listen under the covers or with hot chocolate in your hand.
Yet there is a surprising amount of land in the 31 areas mentioned in the ship forecast. You’ll be familiar with the options listed below, but you’d be surprised where you can spend the night without getting your feet wet.
Choose Malin
Malin Head (above) is Ireland’s most northerly point and here you’ll find huge cliffs full of red-billed grasses and a 75 meter deep gorge called Hell’s Hole
Dogger, west or south-west four or five, occasional rain. Well. German Bow, five or six north-west, the first occasionally seven…’ These are the strange but familiar musings of the BBC Radio 4 announcers who deliver the shipping forecast four times a day, but most romantically about 40 minutes after midnight Read , published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
The Malin Shipping Forecast Area coastline stretches across the northern coast of the island of Ireland and south-west Scotland and includes the Inishowen Peninsula in the Republic of Ireland, a treasure trove of beaches and mountain ranges around Lough Foyle.
Located on the edge of the lake in County Donegal, Redcastle Hotel is an airy hotel with cream accents, a golf course and green grounds. From here it’s just a 40-minute drive to Malin Head, the most northerly point in the country, where you’ll find a ruined Napoleonic signal tower called Banba’s Crown, near huge cliffs full of red-billed crows and a 75-metre deep gorge. , aptly named Hell’s Hole.
DETAILS: Double rooms from £151 bed and breakfast (redcastlehoteldonegal.com).
Make yourself comfortable with Fastnet
Push the boat out: Galley Head Lightkeeper’s House in County Cork, located in the Fastnet shipping region
The Fastnet shipping area stretches along the south coast of Ireland.
You can’t get any closer to the roaring tide than by staying at the Galley Head Lightkeeper’s House in County Cork: a whitewashed old car with a large kitchen and views straight across the cliffs.
If all this feels too remote, the village of Clonakilty is a 20 minute drive away.
It houses the Michael Collins House, a museum dedicated to the Irish independence leader who was born nearby.
DETAILS: Two-day stay at Galley Head from £416, self-catering (irishlandmark.com).
A taste of the German Bow
The German Bight is “perhaps the best-known ship forecasting region of all,” says Rob, and “covers much of the west coast of Danish Jutland.” In the photo: the town of Lokken in Jutland
The German Bight is perhaps the most famous ship prediction region of all, covering much of the west coast of Danish Jutland. It may be a stormy, windswept vantage point over the North Sea, but the wide sand dunes and beaches are seemingly endless and there is unusual accommodation near the town of Henne in the form of the Molle A Badehotel. It was built in the 1930s by Poul Henningsen, one of the most influential Scandinavian designers of all time.
DETAILS: Double room at Henne Molle A Badehotel from £211, B&B (hennemoelleaa.dk).
First Brittany
The Phare de Kerbel lighthouse (above) lies on the border of the Plymouth and Biscay forecast areas
Right on the border between the Plymouth and Biscay shipping areas lies the Phare de Kerbel lighthouse, two hours’ drive from Nantes in France.
It offers the rare opportunity to spend the night on a lighthouse. The original 25 meter high lantern tower offers breathtaking views of the Brittany coast at Riantec and has been replaced by a new structure at the top, accessible only via 126 steps.
DETAILS: £607 per night for two adults self-catering (pharedekerbel.com).
Cause a storm
The Torre de Hercules, a stone lighthouse overlooking the endless Atlantic Ocean in the Fitzroy Shipping Forecast Area
In 2002 there was great fanfare when the Finisterre shipping region was renamed Fitzroy, after Robert Fitzroy, founder of the storm warning system that was the prototype of shipping forecasting in the 19th century.
Fitzroy spans the far northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula and includes the chic and airy Noa Boutique Hotel in A Coruna, Spain. Big waves from the Atlantic roll in here, which even the young Pablo Picasso, who lived in the city as a child, would have observed.
Today there is a walking route that you can follow as part of a self-guided tour. From the hotel it is a 20-minute drive to Torre de Hercules, a stone lighthouse overlooking the endless Atlantic Ocean.
DETAILS: Double rooms from £101 B&B (noaboutiquehotel.com).
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
