Lyme Regis - reliving golden days

Lyme Regis has always had a special place in our hearts. We made many a day trip down here in our youth as it is only a 45 minute drive from Mark's parents house.

This place appeals in all seasons, with it's quaint bay, the unique cobb and the history of the coastline and its famous Jurassic heritage. A walk on the cobb is not for the fainthearted though - with its sloping surface and the likelihood of a rogue wave crashing over the edge in rougher seas.

You can see millions of years of history in the cliffs here - it is officially the first place where fossils were found in England, and many a discovery has been made on the coastline. One local, Mary Anning found the very first Ichthyosaur skeleton in 1811 at age 12 and spent her life finding fossils in the Jurassic marine beds around the local area. Having these amazing treasures lying in wait just waiting to be discovered hasn't been without risk and tragedy though, as the unstable cliffs have had a habit of coming down and burying would-be fossil hunters under piles of rock and rubble at times over the years.

There were no fossil finds for us the day we visited, but there were two little people happy enough to ditch their shoes and bury feet in the sand despite the cooler day.

The amusement arcade on the foreshore was also chocka full of games to entice young and old.

I have distinct memories of playing this horse racing derby many a time with Mark and his friends on occasions when we came to the seaside in our youth.

Such a time waster really but good natured fun.

The boys tried their hands at the 2p machines - they really are a have but the boys enjoyed hearing the sound of the pennies tinkling down when they won a few back.

Then it was time for a wander down the promenade and through the back streets to find fish n chips for lunch - it's gotta be done at the seaside.

I love the colourful architecture in this town, so different to some of the somber one-colour stone villages not far up the road.

And Lyme to me is the quintessential English seaside town because without a pebbly shore could a shore ever really be truly called  English?

More colourful beach huts line the shore just as they did in Seaton a short way west along the coast.

After lunch, Grandma and Granddad took the boys to the fossil shop while Mark and I looked around the local museum which was fascinating both in its wealth of fossils and in retelling of local lore. 

This was our last day trip with Grandma and Grandad before the duties of re-packing and our final trip to Wales beckoned. Despite the fact some tummies were still getting over the bugs from earlier in the week, it was a gentle day packed with just enough excitement and nostalgia to satisfy all.