Lyme Regis is a picturesque seaside town set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the border where Dorset meets Devon. It’s a narrow tangle of streets and shops that find their way to the famous 13th-century Cobb harbour.
The Cobb has been a haven for shipping from the time it was built and is famous for being the landing place of the Duke of Monmouth prior to the Pitchfork Rebellion at Sedgemoor in 1685. It was made famous as the location of the film ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’, from the book by resident local author John Fowles.
The immediate coastline is dramatically beautiful, criss-crossed by rambling paths and home to all kinds of flora and fauna. The coastline here forms part of a 95 mile stretch awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO for its outstanding geology. It is now ranked alongside the Grand Canyon and Great Barrier Reef as one of the natural wonders of the world and is England’s first Natural World Heritage Site.
185 million years of earth history is presented along the 95 miles of coast and the beaches around Lyme Regis and Charmouth are the very best places to find fossils.
Shopping in Lyme Regis is characterised by souvenirs, ice creams, fossils and other local memorabilia. It takes a lot of will power to resist the many tempting tearooms!
Must see and do
- Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, Charmouth
- Lyme Regis Jazz Festival (July)
- The Town Mill, Lyme Regis
- Lyme Regis Lifeboat Week (July)
- Forde Abbey & Gardens, Chard
- Seaton Tramway, Seaton
- Lyme Regis Regatta & Carnival Week (August)