AMERICAN tourists love visiting Britain and in 2018 almost 4 million of them came to this country, making them our biggest fans followed by French and German visitors.

In 2022 that rose to 4.6 million US visitors to Britain.

With Portland Port celebrating a bumper number of cruise ship visitors this summer, and many of them from the USA, here’s a look at what visitors from across the pond made of Weymouth in their reviews on the top five attractions in the area on TripAdvisor.

The top five rated attractions are: the Nothe Fort, Weymouth beach, Weymouth harbour, Abbotsbury Swannery and Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens.

A couple from Montgomery, New York, who went on a cruise ship that docked in Portland described Weymouth as ‘absolutely the most beautiful town to visit’.

They said it has ‘lots of shops and a perfect beach with awesome views’.

They also go on to mistakenly describe Weymouth as ‘a village that reminds them of villages in New England, USA’.

And the shop that most caught their eye was Weymouth’s TK Maxx in New Bond Street, familiar to them as TJ MAX in the USA’, they described the Weymouth town centre shop as having ‘great prices’.

Dorset Echo: A couple from NY state particularly enjoyed TK Maxx in Weymouth A couple from NY state particularly enjoyed TK Maxx in Weymouth (Image: Newsquest)

A visitor from Cedar Rapids in Iowa loved Weymouth’s ‘nice long beach’ and ‘freshly groomed’ sand. They particularly enjoyed picking up seashells for their grandchildren.

A family from Florida arriving at Portland on a cruise ship described Weymouth as ‘quaint’.

They said the town is ‘beautiful, relaxing and charming’ and particularly loved the shops and pubs.

Further afield, a Californian visiting from San Francisco raved about Abbotsbury Swannery, highlighting the picnic tables at the west Dorset attraction, the owls and a ‘great labyrinth’.

The swannery also had another American visitor waxing lyrical on TripAdvisor, who said being in the company of hundreds of swans was ‘unbelievable’.

The couple from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, said: “To also walk among nesting swans sitting on eggs is incomparable. The adventure begins by walking through a pasture filled with sheep which, for us, was uplifting by itself.”

Another five star review for the swannery from enthusiastic Americans came from a couple from Alexandria, Virginia, who said the attraction is ‘lovely’ and ‘interesting and peaceful’.

They said: “One surprise bonus was our ability to feed the swans at the 4pm feeding with the keepers. That gave us access to converse with the keepers and see and learn more.”

Dorset Echo: American visitors were filled with enthusiasm for Abbotsbury Swannery American visitors were filled with enthusiasm for Abbotsbury Swannery (Image: Julia Rosser)

A family from Tampa, Florida, giving the attraction four out of five stars, enjoyed the ‘cute gift shop’ and ‘clean toilets’, while a visitor from Dallas, Texas, loved being among the swans but enjoyed the ‘surrounding area’ more.

A glowing review of Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens came from a visitor from Texas, who awarded it five stars and said: “I never thought these plants would be in England.”

Dorset Echo: Visitors from Texas really enjoyed Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens Visitors from Texas really enjoyed Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens (Image: Pam Goodey)

They said food at the restaurant was “very tasty”

“We could have spent all day admiring the unusual and beautiful plants,” they said.

Overall those from the United States seem to be full of enthusiasm for Weymouth and its surrounding attractions with not a single negative comment among their reviews of the area.