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Weymouth is to host its biggest-ever two-day beer festival later this year, it has been announced.

The West Dorset branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is to hold the event at Brewers Quay on October 2nd and 3rd, the Dorset Echo reports.

A total of 54 ales and eight ciders will be available for testing at the Octoberfest, something that may interest those that have booked holiday cottages in Dorset.

Around 1,000 people are expected to attend and Davis Harris, chairman of the West Dorset branch of Camra said that more drinks will be on offer than ever before.

"It represents the growth and improvement of the festival," he told the news source, adding that it "has always been a friendly event" where people can ask questions about the various different beers.

Recent research by thetrainline.com found that people are increasingly opting to visit alternative events during their summer holiday in order to sample different aspects of British culture.

A new map has been produced to help those looking for holidays in Dorset to explore one of the county”s tourist attractions.

A total of 20,000 maps of the Isle of Portland have been distributed and are available from places such as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the Tank Museum and Portland Marina, the Dorset Echo reports.

A bus advertising the island has also hit the road in the area in order to promote the island”s attractions, businesses and natural offerings.

"The new Portland Visitor Map has been a fantastic addition to our services and our customers really appreciate the clear simplicity of the map," visitor services manager at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council Lindy Parmley told the news source.

She added that it is a useful resource for visitors who will be travelling to the island during the times when its Lighthouse Visitor Centre is closed.

The Isle of Portland is connected to the mainland by Chesil Beach and will host the sailing events for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The finishing touches have been added to Europe”s first artificial surf reef in Dorset.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the project is due to open next month in time for the start of the surfing season, something that may increase the number of people searching for holiday homes in Dorset.

The £1.4 million project will double the height of waves and increase the number of good surfing days through the use of sandbags fixed to the seabed 225m off the shore.

It is designed to produce a grade five wave – compared to the grade eight Hawaii Pipeline – and is one of four artificial reefs worldwide, with the remaining three located in Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand.

"Body boarders have already been surfing the hollow, powerful barrels that it was intended to produce," Paul Clarke of Bournemouth Surfing Centre told the news source.

In related news, five of the UK”s top surfing professionals are currently promoting conservation work underway in Cornwall.

The high number of Britons who are choosing to take a holiday in the UK this year is good for the country, an expert has noted.

Director of the British Resorts & Destinations Association Peter Hampson explained that statistics have shown the domestic holiday market to be "very buoyant".

"A lot of people who have been going to UK holiday destinations have been doing so all year," he said.

Mr Hampson argued that research showing many Brits are choosing not to go on holiday at all can be "self-fulfilling prophecies" and unhelpful.

He suggested that clarity is needed, because those asked may consider only a trip abroad to constitute a break, meaning weekends in holiday cottages in Dorset and elsewhere might not be included.

The comments follow Accenture findings that only 55 per cent of people are planning a holiday over the next year, with the economic downturn the main factor behind this.

A keen fisherman has spoken of his fondness of Dorset as a holiday destination, having rediscovered the county after two decades.

Malcolm Hemmings told the Dorset Echo that he is taking the opportunity to do some angling in Weymouth this month.

Nearly 20 years after last heading to Dorset, Mr Hemmings is currently enjoying a two-week family holiday.

And in addition to fishing and walking on the beach, he highlighted the benefits of the area for his 12-year-old daughter.

"She isn”t a confident swimmer but because the sea is shallow for a long way here, it”s perfect for her," he said.

Mr Hemmings added that he returned to the area to see how it had changed, stating that it is "like taking a trip down memory lane".

Those planning family holidays in Dorset in the coming years may be able to spot some Olympians, as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is offering international teams the chance to use its facilities ahead of the 2012 London Games.