Lyme’s literary associations (Jane Austen, John Fowles etc) and its royal patronage have helped it maintain a genteel, old world ambience quite unlike any other beach resort. It has a characterful selection of shops, restaurants and pubs on its steep streets above the beach and harbour plus many notable buildings. Tourist facilities include boat trips and guided fossil hunting. The Tourist Information Centre (01297442138) is in Church Street next to the Guild Hall and the excellent museum.

Nearby Axminster (with a rail station) and Honiton, a little further, both over the county border in Devon, are worth visiting, the latter especially for antiques.

This corner of the county fully justifies its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status and is laced with footpaths includingthehistoricMonarch’s Way and Liberty Trail plus the upgraded Wessex Ridgeway which incorporates spectacular views especially from Iron Age hill-forts.

A peaceful river walk follows the Char from its mouth via Whitchurch Canonicorum to the lovely Marshwood Vale. Further inland Forde Abbey (a stunning12th century Cistercian Monastery with 30 acres of gardens and lakes) and Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park make a great day out.

Lyme’s famous Cobb protects the sandy town beach and divides it from a quieter one to the west. The Jurassic Coasteither side is backed by unstable cliffs which reveal new fossils all year round. Further west are the Devon resorts of Seaton andBeer. Charmouth to the east is only a half hour walk along the beach at low tide or five minutes drive along the bypass; it has a choice of pubs and a long sandy beach. From here, the Coast Path walk is a rewarding slog to a pub beyond Golden Cap (618 ft) at Seatown with Chideock just inland offering further refreshment choice.

Charmouth (cottages 263, 282, 286, 313, 339, 391, 398 & 515) : As well as its sandy beach, fossil hunting cliff and spectacular views of Golden Cap, this large village has a good selection of shops, pubs, restaurants and Georgian/Regency buildings. There is an excellent Heritage Coast Centre.

Chideock (cottages 219, 224, 230, 260, 289, 342, 346, 361, 364 & 397): A large, traditional village on the main road with the advantages of a shop, a choice of pubs and of being under a mile from the sea at Seatown. Click Here for area pictures.

Monkton Wyld (cottage 433): A rural hamlet with a church in oak-wooded hills; family farms are dotted across the valley which slopes gently down to Charmouth and the sea.

Rousdon (cottages 106, 384 & 392): Actually just in Devon, this farming village, close to Lyme Regis, has a hotel and shop. The historic Rousdon Estate is a stunning350 acre country estate managed by English Heritage with a private beach beneath The Undercliff, a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Jurassic Coast.

Seatown (cottages 212, 372 and 373): The Coast Path passes through this hamlet which has a vast shingle beach, a pub and seasonal shop. Toweringabove is Golden Cap - the highest point on the unspoiled Dorset coast

Uplyme (cottages 374, 375 & 376): Nestling in the quiet Lym valley that leads down to the nearby popular Lyme Regis, the village has a shop, pub, restaurant and tennis courts.

Yawl (cottage 217): A hamlet in a secluded bird-filled valley. Wooded hills frame the views, springs feed the little River Lym and there are walks to classic Dorset and Devonvillages.