The Jurassic Coast Weekend was a great success, in part due to the extremely good weather, but largely due to the brilliant organisation by John and Jo Pentney.

Details of the visit to the Swannery at Abbotsbury are not available (I missed that bit), but it sounds to have been very enjoyable.

In the evening we met up at the Pilot Boat Inn in Lyme for a meal and lots of catching up.

Saturday morning dawned fair, and saw the party meeting up at Colyton, a pretty little village over the border in Devon. There we boarded a tram for the journey down to Seaton. I think everyone sat on the open upper deck of the tram (see the photo) which took about 20 minutes to take us to the terminus at Seaton. From there we walked up a very steep hill to the Axe Cliff Golf Club where we had a lunch of sandwiches, chips and tea (or other stronger drinks).

After lunch we set off along the cliff top towards Lyme, and soon entered the Landslip area. This is even more like a jungle than described in the book: The Secret of the Hidden Pool. After lots of ups and downs, we finally called it far enough and returned by the same route, apart from one intrepid member who decided to go the whole hog and walked all the way to Lyme.

A further tram ride back to Colyton completed the daytime proceedings, and we all rushed off to change for the evening meal. This was at the Harbour Inn in Axmouth. Yet again, the Society manages to maintain its reputation for Fabulous Feasts.

Just to ound off the day, some of us got back to Lyme just in time to watch a firework display organised by the RNLI as part of Lifeboat Week.

Sunday continued the good weather and we set out from the car park in Lyme to visit places of literary merit, albeit not Saville ones. No visit to Lyme is complete without a visit to the Cobb, and sure enough we had to re-enact an excerpt from a Jane Austen book: Pursuasion where Sue Graham played the part of Louisa Musgrove who leapt from the Cobb hoping to be caught by Captain Wentworth (played by Phil Bannister). In the book she ended up unconscious, but thankfully, this bit was not re-enacted.

At lunch-time several members said farewell, while the remainder found lunch in various places, and some managed to meet up yet again in the Museum.

Anyone staying over until Monday had the opportunity to watch a procession of illuminated boats, the culmination of Lifeboat Week.

In all, the weekend was deemed to be a great success!

One of our members, Alan Bowman, has made a video featuring the Swannery and the Trams and placed it on his website.

 

Photo's from the event

Tram at Colyton

Jungle conditions in the Landslip

Saturday Meal at the Harbour Inn

Louisa Musgrove Leaping