Lyme Regis Weekend

The little-known Saville story The Secret of the Hidden Pool provided an excuse to visit Lyme Regis which lies at the western end of the Dorset coast.

We toured this delightful town on Saturday, learning of its history and its literary connections. Jane Austen regularly visited and we saw a number of places where she stayed. Having roped ourselves together we ventured onto the wind-swept Cobb. While most of us were struggling to stand upright beside the row of steps known as 'Granny's Teeth', Jo read a passage from Pursuasion, about Louisa Musgrove's dramatic fall on the Cobb. The two girls in our party were reluctant to re-enact this accident. The Cobb also features in The French Lieutenant's Woman and later we saw the home of the book's author, John Fowles. Strangely, Thomas Hardy seems to have overlooked Lyme Regis in his Dorset writings. We managed to investigate a number of tea-rooms and cafes during the day in preparation for an evening of continued conversation and refreshment at an inviting tavern.

Rested and clad in every warm item of clothing we possessed, we undertook a longer walk on Sunday that took us to the top of Golden Cap which, at 191m is the highest sea cliff on the south coast. We were fortunate in that the weather provided clear views towards Portland Bill and made the climb worthwhile. As if by chance, we arrived at The Anchor Inn at lunchtime. Our return journey provided more magnificent Dorset views. Some of the walk's survivors discovered a cafe in Charmouth that looked unchanged from the 1960s and which was reminiscent of those featuring in Saville stories. This provided copious volumes of tea, the opportunity to thaw out and to prepare for our homeward journeys.

The Cobb

Ian, Mike, John, Colin, Jo, Jenny, Jean and Clare at an old sheep wash

The descent from Golden Cap to Seatown and lunch