Day 10: Lyme Regis to Dorchester … by bus!
Lyme Regis is feted in film and literature, but in its modern form it sits somewhere between museum and amusement park. It’s far too crowded at this time of year to really appreciate its heritage, unlike the last time we came, when the winter twilight made for a deserted and slightly haunted air. But its location, perched between the Jurassic cliffs, and the condition of the shops and accommodation, as well as the beautiful gardens, made it a lovely place to spend wandering..
I wasn’t sorry to miss a day of walking: I think that it might have been just Ben and me, and that seemed to be against the spirit of our little family pilgrimage. Better to spend a last day together, and celebrate with a slap up meal at the end of it. We went shopping…
Our morning walk was a bit of a shock, because it was the first cloudy day of the walk and the temperature was about 14ºC, so our t-shirts were a bit inadequate until the sun came out and flooded the area with an amazing light. The beachfront was lined with those amazing bathing boxes, which we’ve learnt are far more expensive than one might think — tens of thousands of quids. Under the cob, the boat harbour had an array of everything from fishing boats to flash yachts. By the time we had walked down to Mary Anning’s statue, hundreds of fossickers had taken advantage of the low tide to look for fossils under the cliffs.
We spent a couple of hours exploring the shops, including a raid on the excellent bookshop, where we scanned lots of covers to buy later… Well, we do have luggage restrictions.
This kept us busy until we met the others at the bus stop and began the trip to Dorchester. This was all very pleasant and bucolic until we reached Poundbury, which adjoins Dorchester. The latter, as the name would indicate, goes back to the Romans and well before; the former is the creation of the then Prince of Wales, now the Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch, our Sovereign Lord, Charles III, now, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
In spite of the abuse levelled at Poundbury by more ‘contemporary’ architects and the pundits of town planning, it is actually a very pleasant place, with its air of steamed cleaned Georgian townscape. Of course, because the style is too uniform it doesn’t look right, but the mixed housing stock, with quite a lot of apartments and terraces. Nicely maintained, good recreation areas and shops. Quite civilised — far better than your average Sydney development in, say, Kellyville…
Dorchester is a class English town, with an interesting high street of many centuries, some interesting renewal projects (the brewery precinct looked impressive) and all sorts of light industry hidden away on the outskirts. We found our digs at Westwood House, which turned out to be the most comfortable place in the whole trip. Our hosts turn out to have taken over the place only this week, and they are anxious to please and interested in what we have been up to
We wanted a walk, so we set out to Maiden Castle, because everyone needs to visit an Iron Age fort once or twice a trip. It was a couple of kms, and it was a lovely afternoon, but it has to be said that it wasn’t the most exciting Iron Age fort we have visited, even though the Saxons had used it too. However, we passed the Maumbury RIngs on the way back, and they were far more interesting — probably Neolithic, used bu the Romans as an amphitheatre (although probably not for gladiators), then used as a town meeting place under the Saxons and an artillery base during the English Civil War.
Drinks and dinner were amazing. To find a Japanese restaurant like Myra’s Kaiseki in a Westcountry town is surprising; but to find one of such quality was a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the trip. It’s just about all over: breakfast and then the train and we all go our separate ways.
