My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

Jurassic Coast

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage site, located on the English Channel. Is roughly 95 miles long and stretches from Old Harry Rocks (Dorset) to Exmouth (Devon). Its span includes the distinct geographic regions of East Devon, West Dorset, Weymouth & Portland and Purbeck – each containing their own iconic towns and villages, and natural landscapes. If you are feeling energetic there is an official pathway so you can walk it. It was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2001, not just because of its outstanding natural beauty but also because of the value held in the rocks and fossils around the coast. It is England’s only natural World Heritage Site.

As you can imagine taking up about 95 miles of coastline means there is quite a lot to see and do. I have visited every part of the Jurassic Coast, not in the same week, but over a few years. Even though technically the built up beach at Lyme Regis is not part of the Heritage Site, Lyme Regis is still situated on the Jurassic Coast and it is one of my favourite places.

Once again I am going to have to use photos from Google for this as I have not had chance to find my photos. I changed over laptops recently and put all my photo’s on USBs and an external hard drive, so I have to hunt for them, lol, and of course none of the photo’s I want are on my social media. Argh!

Lyme Regis

Lyme Regis is a pretty little seaside town, with some interesting looking buildings and a stunning beach. There are a few things to do and see there, including a Lyme Regis Philpot Museum. It is built on the site of the former home of the palaeontologist Mary Anning. Mary Anning was a fossil collector and palaeontologist who lived and worked in Lyme Regis during the first part of the 1800’s. Due to Mary being female she was often ignored by her fellow scientists and her findings ignored. This did not stop Mary who published several books, and now her discoveries are treated with the respect they deserve. Mary died of breast cancer and following her death her friends, the Philpot’s, financed a museum dedicated to her work. As you have probably gathered I am quite fond of history so I found this museum very interesting.

Another reason I like Lyme Regis, is that it is mentioned in my favourite Jane Austen novel, Persuasion. There is a dramatic scene in the book were Louisa Musgrove jumps from the wall in the harbour, known as the Cob, and ends up with concussion. Today you can still walk around the harbour (don’t jump off) like the Austen characters did, and also like Jane Austen herself did. Jane visited Lyme Regis and mentioned in her letters how much she enjoyed staying there. Pyne House on Broad Street there is a plaque that reads “This is the most likely lodging of Jane Austen, whose visits to Lyme in 1803 and 1804 gave birth to her novel Persuasion”. There is also a garden built as a memorial to the author near the end of Marine Parade. If it is still there, there was a café called Jane located near the garden, where we had the best coffee.

Thank you for reading.