A Guide to Fossils & Beaches in Lyme Regis, UK
Nestled between the border of Dorset and Devon lies a sleepy, yet ancient city of Lyme Regis. The actual village is not ancient, rather the ground beneath it contains tons of fossils! First discovered in the 19th century, the village has become a hotspot along the Jurassic Coast for fossil hunters. However, we wanted to discover possibly the number one beach in the UK otherwise known as Sandy Beach!
Logistics:
Similar to other popular Jurassic Coast destinations such as Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, this village can be incredibly difficult to get to without a car, especially on a sunny (i.e. crowded) day!
By Car
Depending on the origination, driving will be much easier! There are two main parking lots in Lyme Regis, although both are located uphill with the village lying downhill. The walk is wonderful going downhill, but afterwards it is a pain! We chose Holmbush Car Park because it was closer to our B&B.
Travel Tip: Download the “Just Park” app on your phone before you go and you can skip the queue to pay!
By Public Transportation
From London, it will be incredibly difficult and possibly over 4 hours to reach Lyme Regis. Nevertheless, there is an option! Leaving from Clapham Junction, there are trains via SouthWest Rail that go to Axeminister. From there, one can take the X51 bus to Dorchester, just getting off at Lyme Regis. According to google maps in August 2020, if all goes well, the trip will take 3 hours and 59 minutes!
Lodging
As Lyme Regis is a tiny village, lodging can be very tricky. Most of my saved B&B options were already booked by the time that I started looking. Thankfully, all those places were gone and led us to a true gem. Located above a bookstore, we had an awesome room with a slight sea view! We even had a recently renovated bathroom! While the seagulls were annoying in the morning, we enjoyed our full English breakfast surrounded by old books! If only we had room in our suitcase…
Food & Drink
Surprisingly, the small village had a ton of tasty restaurant options! From normal fish and chip shops to fancy seafood to microbreweries, we loved our food here! We only wish we had more than one night here. For our lunch, I recommend any number of fish and chip shops and we chose the Lyme Bay sandwich company. For dinner, we were very lucky and secured tasty seafood takeaway from the Millside. Reservations are recommended and we wish we were lucky enough to get them!
Check out our English Roadtrip Google map pins for all of our hard research of the top food and drink spots!
Onto Sandy Beach
After dropping off the car and our bags at our B&B, we searched for the famous Sandy Beach. As we walked along the shore, we noticed this incredibly crowded beach next the marina and we surely thought this mystical, number 1 beach in the UK would not be as crowded. Boy, were we wrong!
Thankfully, we found a spot amidst the throngs of people and laid down our bags. Unfortunately, the sun was hiding for most of the day so we didn’t even bother taking off our shirts and jackets. Instead, we were able to people watch this incredible beach and noticed that every other tent or group had a child. It appears that is the entry price and we missed the memo!
Sandy Beach
Fresh Seafood & Ice Cream Delights!
Rather than eat our dwindling supply of meats and cheeses, we went for extremely fresh seafood at the Lyme Bay Sandwich Shop. Today’s special was the Lyme Bay crab meat so both MF and I purchased this sandwich! The sandwich was very tasty and worth the splurge! We were also lucky and dodged any diving seagulls who wanted our food.
After a wonderful afternoon nap, I went in search of ice cream. Why not on a cold cloudy day… Highly rated and a long queue, Baboo’s Gelato was pretty good! I obviously ordered a chocolate ice cream cone for my beach walk!
Beach, Take Two
Once we checked into our B&B for good, the sun obviously decided to come out for good. Rather than rejoin the crowds on Sandy beach, we went for the nearly empty pebble beach. Finally in the sun, it felt terrific despite the pains in my bum and back! Hopefully, we gain some great rays of sunshine!
Millside Takeaway
Although we were not able to secure reservations as the lovely Millside restaurant, they were still able to squeeze us in for a cheeky takeaway. We ordered tasty scallops and a half lobster (or lobby as the locals say!) and loved every bite. While I am sure it could have been better at the restaurant, we enjoyed our seafood takeaway and cheaper wine inside our B&B.
Sunset Walks
While we were on wrong side for an UK sunset, we still managed a great sunset walk in Lyme Regis. The lights and shading is fantastic, especially in the harbour and village itself. From the old buildings to the sailboats in the harbor, we managed great pictures too! If only the sun was out all day!
Sunset
Photo Mission
Before we left this sleepy village, I knew I had to take early morning pictures without the masses. Because the sun rises in the east and will cast shadows over the beach, I had to get on the beach early! Unfortunately, I was not the first one up nor early enough but I still managed to get great shots from the beach and harbor. My favorite photos were from the harbor because the water was very still; thus, providing a great forefront to the sailboats with the beaches and village in the background. My next favorite pictures were on the beaches, obviously! I would highly recommend!!
The UnChartered Summary
While I fully expected the Jurassic Coast to be my favorite part of our UK road trip, I think Lyme Regis is my favorite village! The village has the terrific food options and great B&B or hotels in the area. If only we planned for longer…
- Book early, especially in summer, for the best accommodation options. Or, consider the Bookstore B&B that is literally 1-2 minutes from the beach!
- For food and drinks, head towards the Millside. There is a micro-brewery with outdoor space and a few tasty restaurant options!
- Similar to most popular beaches, get there early!
- However, I am not sure if Sandy Beach is our favorite in the UK. With the long travel times and a very crowded beach, we didn’t think it was that special although the sand was really fine!