As a delayed birthday treat for Sue we
had a long weekend down on the Jurassic coast, basing ourselves at Lyme Regis
in Dorset. We stayed the lovely Cleveland B&B; with only three bedrooms the
owners provide a high quality personal service. The rooms were spotless and
well equipped, the breakfasts fresh and tasty, it has its own off street
parking and the owners are very helpful and caring of your needs. So much so
that the other couples staying there were repeat customers over many years.
Lyme Regis is a delightful, old
fashioned yet well healed seaside town with a lovely little beach, interesting
shops and a lovely harbour (the Cobb – which featured in the French
Lieutenants’ Woman).
On this weekend there was an Art Festival with local artists displaying their work in the parks, galleries and
shops throughout the town. We had a ramble, stopping in at the local brewery
and ending up buying a piece called ‘Tea at Lyme’ by Judy Edwards.
That evening we were booked in to have
a meal at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage HQ for a meal and so we
took a cab out into the countryside where we were met by a tractor and trailer
to take us down to the farm. We were ushered into a yurt for a drink and
canapés as the evening was outlined to us and told we had the freedom to
explore the farm and kitchens until the appointed time to eat. We saw some of
the produce, the old farmhouse used in the TV series, the training school and
the converted barn dining room. The guests were sat at two long benches and we
found ourselves next to some lovely couples who we got to know better as the
series of dishes were brought out to us. The food was divine and the hours soon
passed in a merry haze.
The weather was superb (in fact we
ended up getting a bit of a tan spending nearly all of our time outdoors), and
so we took advantage of this and travelled down the coast visiting Seaton where
we wandered along the beach and watched the electric trams, Branscombe where we
visited the old forge, mill and walked
down to the beach, Sidmouth where we did not stop as it was a real
kiss-me-quick sort of place full of happy families, and on to Exmouth where we
visited the intriguing A la Ronde sixteen sided National Trust house.
That evening we had booked a table at
Mark Hix’s Oyster and Seafood House which sits on the hill overlooking the Cobb
and bay and is a short walk from the B&B. The food was delicious, when we
eventually got it, but the service atrocious – it took us nearly an hour to get
our first drink and our menus and that was only after we prompted he staff (we
noticed another couple leave after similar treatment). Once we were eating
though everything else was fine and we tried some interesting fish dishes.
On the Sunday we checked out and
visited a nearby Landmark Trust property called Belmont House which was lovely,
before heading along the coast towards home, visiting the impressive Chesil Beach, and Portland Bill headland, stopping for a fish lunch at Swanage before
crossing Poole Harbour and travelling inland for home.
It was a fabulous weekend all round.
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