Lyme Bay, Dorset
Jurassic Heritage Coast
Lyme Bay - Dorset & Devon Coast

Lyme Bay


Tuesday, 19th March 2024, 11:26am

Devon Dorset


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Welcome to Lyme Bay

Lyme Bay

Lyme Bay

Lyme Bay is situated on the south coast of England, towards the western end of the English Channel. Boasting a mild and temperate climate, the Lyme Bay coast makes for an ideal winter as well as a summer holiday destination.

Lyme Bay shares its coast between East Devon and West Dorset. Moving west from the most easterly point, we are in the county of Dorset.

Isle of Portland (including Fortuneswell).
Chesil Beach (including the villages of Abbotsbury, West Bexington and Burton Bradstock).
West Bay (including Freshwater, Eype and Seatown).
Charmouth.
Lyme Regis.

Moving further west, we now enter the county of Devon.

Seaton (including Axmouth).
Beer (including Branscombe).
Sidmouth.
Budleigh Salterton.
Exmouth.

Places to stay along the Lyme Bay Coast

All accommodation is catered for along the Lyme Bay coast, including Bed and Breakfast ( B & B ), Guest Houses, Hotels, Self-catering, Caravan parks and Camping sites.

Places to eat along the Lyme Bay Coast

You will find various types of restaurants along the Lyme Bay coast, including Seafood, Diners, Inns, Public Houses (Pubs) and Fish and Chips.

Lyme Bay Coast History

Sometimes known as The Bay of a Thousand Wrecks, Lyme Bay has been a well known area through the ages for ships taking shelter from storms.

Lyme Bay takes in most of the Triassic and Jurassic Coast, also referred to as the World Heritage Coast, where cliff faces and rock falls can expose up to 250 million years of history. The cliffs and walks along the coast of Lyme Bay also form part of the South West Coast Path.

The Geological timeline of Lyme Bay is the Mesozoic (second geological or middle life) Period.......65 to 250 million years ago and is split into the following 3 periods:

The Triassic Period.......200 to 250 million years ago.
The Jurassic Period.......140 to 200 million years ago.
The Cretaceous Period.......65 to 140 million years ago.

Most of the East Devon Lyme Bay coast is within the Triassic Period.
Most of the West Dorset Lyme Bay coast is within the Jurassic Period.

Each village and town along the Lyme Bay coast has played its part in English history.

South West Coast Path

The South West Coast Path follows the contours of the coast (where practical) from Studland in East Dorset, then along the Lyme Bay coast of West Dorset and East Devon, along the South Devon coast, around the Cornish coast, back through North Devon to Minehead in Somerset. This site supplies a brief description of the walks to be encountered along the Lyme Bay coast through each town and village of West Dorset and East Devon.

Good Beach Guide

A ratings guide is supplied for all beaches along the Lyme Bay coast, most of which achieve the highest award.