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Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Seeing Beatrix Potter, G. K. Chesterton & Jane Austen in Lyme Regis


The English seaside resort of Lyme Regis proved a pleasant place to spend a Sunday. While we found it windy and cold, we secured a bench on which to enjoy our picnic lunch, and take in the incredible view. 



Walking through this historical town provided a visual feast. So much history. So much detail!


Sightseers have long been visiting Lyme Regis. Check out this sketch by Beatrix Potter, drawn during a visit 101 years ago.


Photo courtesy of the Lyme Regis Museum

I tried to see G. K. Chesterton sitting on the porch of the Three Cups Hotel, writing one of his Father Brown mysteries (recently made into a popular TV series), or some poetry for his adopted children. I wondered if J. R. R. Tolkien got much writing done when he visited Lyme Regis. Or did he, like so many visitors, feel the attraction of the sea?



Sadly, the building sits vacant now, merely a reminder of what once was.



Jane Austen fell in love with the town, when she visited the resort town in 1804. Or as she wrote in her novel Persuasion, "A very strange stranger it must be, who does not see the charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better."



The Lyme Regis Museum helped us appreciate this town better, with its displays on famous locals, its literary heritage, and all the prehistoric fossils that have been discovered here. We ducked into the museum twice, absorbing more appreciation for this charming town with each visit. Then, reluctantly, it was time to return to our car, and head off toward our next destination.

Dragon Dave

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