Lyme Regis

Known as the Pearl of Dorset, Lyme Regis is a captivating little town enjoying a setting unrivalled in the county, an area of outstanding natural beauty where the rolling countryside of Dorset plunges to the sea. The town itself is a maze of narrow streets with many charming Georgian and Regency houses, and the picturesque harbour will be familiar to anyone who has seen the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman, based on the novel by Lyme resident, John Fowles. The scene of a lone woman standing on the wave-lashed Cobb has become one of cinema’s most enduring images.

The Cobb, which protects the harbour and the sandy beach with its clear bathing water from south-westerly storms, was first recorded in 1294 but the town itself goes back at least another 500 years to Saxon times when there was a salt works here. A charter granted by Edward I allowed Lyme to add ‘Regis’ to its name but during the Civil War the town was staunchly anti-royalist, routing the forces of Prince Maurice and killing more than 2,000 of them. Some 40 years later, James, Duke of Monmouth, chose Lyme as his landing place to start the ill-fated rebellion that would end with ferocious reprisals being meted out to the insurgents by the notorious Judge Jeffreys. Happier days arrived in the 18th century when Lyme became a fashionable resort, famed for its fresh, clean air. Jane Austen and her family visited in 1803 and part of her novel Persuasion is set in the town. The Jane Austen Garden on Lyme’s seafront commemorates her visit.

A few years after Jane’s visit, a 12-year-old girl called Mary Anning was wandering along the shore when she noticed bones protruding from the cliffs. She had discovered the first ichthyosaur to be found in England. Later, as one of the first professional fossil collectors, she also unearthed locally a plesiosaur and a pterodactyl. The 6-mile stretch of coastline on either side of Lyme is world famous for its fossils and some fine specimens of local discoveries can be seen at the award-winning Lyme Regis Museum – featuring the displays Science, Art and Landscape – in Bridge Street and at Dinosaurland Fossil Museum in Coombe Street. The privately run Dinosaurland, housed in the magnificent former church where Mary Anning was baptized and worshipped, boasts some 8,000 specimens and has one of the best fossil displays in the south west.

For themed tours of Lyme Regis contact Literary Lyme, which specializes not only in the literary connections of the town through novelists Jane Austen and John Fowles but also includes a tour dedicated to Mary Anning. You can book tours through the Lyme Regis Museum.

Just around the corner from Dinosaurland, in Mill Lane, you’ll find one of the town’s most interesting buildings. It was in January 1991 that a group of Lyme Regis residents got together in an effort to save the old Town Mill from destruction. There has been a mill on the River Lim in the centre of the town for many centuries, but most of the present buildings date back to the mid-17th century when the mill was rebuilt after being burned down during the Civil War siege of Lyme in 1644. Today, back in full working order, and manned by volunteers, Town Mill is one of Lyme’s major attractions with its ancient working flour mill and modern hydroelectric system. It also incorporates two art galleries which stage a wide range of exhibitions, concerts, poetry readings and other live performances. Other highlights include a pottery, fashion studio, cheesemonger, microbrewery and gift shop.

For its size, Lyme Regis has an extraordinary ranage of activities on offer, too many to list here although worth mentioning is the famous week-long Carnival and Regatta held in August. Bands play on the Marine Parade and events include displays by Morris Men and activities for all the family.

Lyme has maintained a Town Crier for over a thousand years without a break and the current incumbent in his colourful 18th century costume can be seen and heard throughout the town during the summer months.

If you enjoy walking, the South West Coast Path passes through Lyme; if you follow it eastwards for about 5 miles it will bring you to Golden Cap (617 feet), the highest point on the south coast with spectacular views from every vantage point. Or you can just take a pleasant stroll along Marine Parade, a traffic-free promenade stretching for about a mile from the Cobb.