Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
11.6km²
Area
25km
Coastline
149m
Highest point
13,417
People
17°C
Warmest sea
August
98km
To the mainland
When to go to Isle of Portland
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (17 °C) and coolest in March (9 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Tied island in Dorset, England, UK
Isle of Portland is an island in United Kingdom. It covers 11.6 km², with 25 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 149 m. About 13,417 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 98 km away.
Getting there
- Bournemouth Airport (BOH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 49 km in a straight lineCar hire at BOH airport (Bournemouth)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 98 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Isle of Portland.
- 8beachesLittle Beach, Chesil Beach, Portland Beach and 5 more
- 6viewpointsPortland, Portland Bill and 4 more
- 3lighthousesPortland Breakwater Lighthouse, Portland Bill Lighthouse
- 2marinasWeymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, Portland Marina
- 1waterfalls
- 4castles and fortsThe Verne Citadel, Portland Castle, Blacknor Fort and 1 more
- 14ruins and archaeological sitesVerne Redoubt, Durdle Pier, St Andrew's Church and 11 more
- 2waymarked walking routesSouth West Coast Path (Section 49: Isle of Portland Circuit), King Charles III England Coast Path: Portland to Lulworth
- 3campsitesSweet Hill Farm, WPNSA Motorhome Area
- 12hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 16restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Isle of Portland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Isle of Portland, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
17.1°C
Balaclava Bay
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Balaclava Baycove17.1°C
- Chesil Covecove17.1°C
- Wallsend Covecove17.1°C
- Mutton Covecove17.1°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 60 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 41 %0–50 m
- 59 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Portland12,710 people
- Easton7,800 people
- Fortuneswell3,381 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Night low (°C) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 8 |
| Sea (°C) | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 98 | 75 | 69 | 53 | 55 | 56 | 58 | 71 | 52 | 101 | 107 | 106 |
| Wet days | 16 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 1.4 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 30 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 30 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.5 | −0.7 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.2 |
| 2025 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Isle of Wight
United Kingdom380 km²241 m82 km away
Brownsea IslandUnited Kingdom2.1 km²39 m37 km away
Guernsey
Guernsey63 km²110 m122 km away
AlderneyGuernsey8.1 km²90 m94 km away
SarkGuernsey5.3 km²114 m124 km awayBarry IslandUnited Kingdom41 m110 km away
HermGuernsey1.3 km²66 m120 km away
LundyUnited Kingdom4.2 km²141 m171 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q774215) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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