Lyme Regis // Birthday Trip

Last month, we celebrated Tristan's birthday in Lyme Regis. Lyme Regis is a cute little coastal town which is in the South West of England. It is most famous because of its fossils, which can be found in the cliffs and beaches along the coast. Tristan is a fan of dinosaurs and as the coast is called the 'Jurassic Coast', I planned this short trip for him as a little surprise. 

We arrived by train on Friday evening and as we were quite tired from the journey, we decided to stay in and explore the town the next day. We headed out quite early on Saturday monring at around 9am and headed straight to the beach to find some fossils. The beach was lovely - clean, quiet but very rocky! 

Lyme Regis experiences two high tides and two low tides in a day like most coastal areas. The best time to go fossil hunting is after the high tide, as the waves wash away the soft clay, leaving the more resistant fossils exposed and more easily collected.

We managed to collect a few fossils from inside rocks, without any tools. Tristan did the work - he hit two rocks together and most of the time we would find something inside! There were so many boulders along the shore where you could see fossils ''engraved'' on them.

 

 

After spending hours fossil hunting, we headed to the promenade and walked along the beach. We spotted a lovely restaurant called By The Bay and decided to have our lunch there. I had a massive battered fish burger with onion rings and chips.

We were quite full after our meal and had another wander around town, popping into a couple of antique and souvenir shops - there were so many of them! We peaked through bakery windows and spotted a fudge shop! Tristan and I both love fudge, so we took some home with us. 

 

 

I took Tristan to the Dinosaurland Fossil museum, which is a private museum owned and run by Palaeontologist Steve Davies and his wife. The museum has a spectacular collection of local Jurassic marine fossils and lots of information about the area and its history. This museum definitely has a lot of personality! 

Our busy day ended at our hotel and we headed back to Manchester the next day. I was really sad to leave Lyme Regis on Sunday, as I absolutely fell in love with this little ancient town in a such a short time. It has a beautiful seaside, friendly people, so much history and there is so much to discover. One of the best places to stay in the UK! We found the train journey long and exhausting. Tristan and I have decided the next time we spend a weekend away, we will rent a car.