Lyme Regis

[BlueMaran]

Any tips for a short stay in Lyme Regis, Dorset?

We are booked to go next week, I’ve found a nice apartment with a sea view. Just me and autistic teen son. He wants to find fossils.

I haven’t been since I was a child, I don’t know how easy it is to find fossils anymore. Has anyone been recently? Any tips or suggestions of things to do/visit or places to avoid?!

Thanks.

It is not that hard if you walk along the beach but do watch for rockfalls. There is a museum on the front and statue to Mary Anning. Minigolf in the gardens.

A short trip up the road to Charmouth at low tide and he's guaranteed to find fossils. Take some equipment with you (a garden sieve thing, hammer). Just watch the cliffs as they're falling like nobody's business.

Thank you both for your replies.
That’s encouraging to hear. Would you say Charmouth is better than Lyme Regis?

And forgive me for being daft, but what is the sieve for?

Agree with PP, you need to go down to Charmouth to find fossils easily. And do watch the cliffs, the weather conditions have caused so many falls just recently. Don't be tempted to go anywhere near the base of the cliff, even if other people are doing it. At Charmouth, this means only going at low tide because otherwise the sea forces you too near to the cliff. Listen carefully to the rocks, if you hear small rocks fall, start moving towards the sea straight away, just in case. I love it there, but you have to be so careful. I saw a small cliff fall once and even that was terrifying. The fossils just sit in the sand down by the sea, you do not need to be near the cliff to find them.

You'll have a better chance of finding fossils in Charmouth.

Also, take a card and various amounts of small cash as there is no bank in Lyme Regis to withdraw money from

We went last year, we didn't find fossils as such in Lyme Regis that could be taken but we enjoyed walking on the ammonite pavement. It's smaller than I expected but still be fascinating. Charmouth beach is better to find fossils but still I think you have to be lucky and patient. We found lots of soft ones there. Take a hammer, lots of in Charmouth use one and your son will feel left out if he can't join in! Be careful with the cliffs as they can crumble. Good luck!

You don't need a hammer. The best fossils are just sat there on the sand. You just have to get your eye in. We have a whole cabinet full of them, all just found wandering slowly along the shore.

Great holiday place OP.

If you walk along the beach from Lyme Regis, you get to the ammonite pavement. It’s really brilliant. Not for bashing them out and taking them home, but just admiring the wonderfulness. As you walk along the beach there are quite a few ammonites in the large boulders, but this bit has a sort of limestone floor to the beach (“pavement”) and the large ammonites are embedded in it, and you walk over them.

https://lovelymeregis.co.uk/fossils/ammonite_pavement

The map location on this website is pretty accurate - you have to walk quite a long way (5-700m ish) along Monmouth beach from Lyme Regis, but it’s a nice beach potter and lots of fossils to see.

Go at low tide though - definitely check eg here https://www.tidetimes.org.uk/lyme-regis-tide-times-20240416 - it varies each day obv.
Id hugely recommend it, I’m a seasoned geologist and was v excited.

Are you all thinking of west bay with the cliff falling warnings?

Sieve is useful for scooping up a load of sand, the sand and smaller pebbles fall through and then you're left with the more interesting things - can easily find ammonites and things this way. Just search garden sieve on amazon

If you're on Facebook, have a look at this page

https://www.facebook.com/CharmouthFossils

The cliffs are crumbling all along at the moment, particularly with the recent storm and heavy rainfall

I know the cliffs are crumbling all along there - I walk my dog there every weekend. The cliffs at west bay are massive

All these replies are really useful thank you everyone. I’d hoped to do a guided walk but they aren’t doing any the week we are there unfortunately. There’s been lots this week typically! (I guess it’s Easter holidays, but we try to avoid going away in school holidays to avoid crowds for my boy. He’s home educated so we aren’t tied to term times thankfully)

I’ve already checked out tide times, and am super cautious about cliff falls, I hadn’t considered cash, so that’s a useful tip thank you.

The museum is quite small but lovely with lots of Mary Anning's fossils that he'd probably find interesting.

Oh the Ammonite Pavement looks stunning, thank you for that link. I will show my boy later. I’m getting excited now!

Holidays are often a lot of stress for him, so I’m fully accepting that we might only have a couple of short walks, and then he will need the rest of the time quiet in the flat re-regulating. So I’m sure I will spend a fair while sitting on the balcony with my book. Sea view was very important for me.

Sounds like you'll have a lovely time! Weather is looking better too

Have you looked at the Charmouth guided fossil hunts? We've done them twice and they're fabulous. Have a look here charmouth.org/chcc/

They also post the safest time for going on the beach daily on their twitter feed.

Also, they'll help identify things if you take them into the centre

There's a section of beach between Lyme and charmouth that was used by the Victorian's as a rubbish dump and my dd loves finding bits of pottery and glass bottles there.

Check tide times though as it's easy to get cut off or pushed close to the cliff edges.

I love Lyme Regis.

You need to read Remarkable Creatures before you go to get you in the mood!

If you like walks and fancy a change from the beach, golden cap is nearby. You can either hike the big hill bit for some amazing views, or there is a loop that takes you though some woodland

Please give my love to Lyme and have a great time! Hope you find fossils - we found some with very small Gdcs a while ago, just eyes, no equipment.
(We love the Harbour Inn BTW - virtually on the beach)

If you go to museum (on the upper floor) at Charmouth before you go on the beach you can but a leaflet for £1 that shows you what to look out for in terms of fossils. The beach as the tide is going out is the best bet. We found a few beefrock ammonites and bellamites quite easily.

Visit the donkey sanctuary- it’s free.

https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/visit-us/sidmouth

Charmouth is good for fossils but otherwise Lyme is better.
There's a swan sanctuary worth a visit. Sounds random but it's great.

There’s also a private dinosaur museum on Coombe street which my young adult kids think is ace.