I spent a lovely time with my sister last week in Lyme Regis, in spite of the troubled train journey there (explained in previous blog post). Living in Leicester, we could not be further away from the sea if we tried and so it is a delight to stand and watch the sun rising across the water. I know that the photograph on the left could be anywhere but I wanted to include it because it reminds me of early morning sea watching in Lyme.Lyme Regis is famous for its Cobb, its fossils and, more recently, for the filming of Broadchurch in its vicinity. I saw it all while I was there and I have photographs to prove it:
The Cobb was originally built around 1313 providing a small harbour which is still used today, mainly by fishing boats. It is famous for a scene in The French Lieutenant's Woman featuring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons in a passionate clinch. Sorry! I'm afraid you'll have to make do with me instead!
A few miles away from Lyme, in Charmouth, the cliffs are continually crumbling and fossils, especially ammonites, can be found even by the most amateur of hunters. When I last visited the area this section of cliff was sheer and there was quite a wide beach. Now the cliff has crumbled to a definite slope and is much closer to the shore line. You can see the cliffs in the background of this photograph. As for the Broadchurch link, the beach huts on the left were featured in the programme.
The fossils found at Charmouth date back about 190 million years. My mind can't conceive of that length of time. The Blue Lias Formation is responsible for preserving and for revealing these fossils. You can read more about it here but I photographed an example of a collection of ammonites in a piece of rock that was found in the area. I have to admit that I did not find it myself but I wish I had. 190 million years! Mind blowing!
