"There is real beauty at Lyme; and...altogether my impressions of the place are very agreeable."

Thus says Anne Elliott in Persuasion when she thinks back on her time at Lyme Regis. Seaside resorts were all the rage during Regency times, and the Austen family frequently visited resorts such as Lyme for their healing sea waters. Lyme Regis was a huge inspiration for Persuasion, and I have always wanted to visit there; I wasn't disappointed when I finally made it there last weekend. 

The sea views and views across the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast are stunning. 

Much of Lyme Regis has been preserved from the Regency times - in fact, there are several buildings that would have existed during Jane Austen's times. 

Jane Austen is believed to have stayed at this cottage at Pyne House, 10 Broad Street, when she visited Lyme in 1803 and 1804. 

The cottage is situated close to the seafront in a bustling street with several shops and restaurants. 

The seaside promenade was one of the first of its kind, created in 1771. The promenade is lined with pretty pastel-coloured cottages, such as these guesthouses. 

Wouldn't it be charming to stay with the Harvilles and Benwicks in these pastel pink cottages? 

I enjoyed browsing the Jane Austen Collection at the Lyme Regis Museum close by.  Several Jane Austen-related items that have been donated by a family member called Diana Shervington. I would love to know more about their authenticity.

This coquelicot-coloured cockade really caught my eye. Feathers and ribbons in this shade of red were fashionable after Nelson's triumph over the French at the Battle of the Nile, and this feather probably came from an egret - a heron common in the Nile Delta. This cockade is said to have belonged to Jane Austen, and I can well believe that it did; in 1798 Jane wrote in a letter about an evening cap that she was altering, "I still venture to retain the narrow silver around it, put twice round without any bow, & instead of the black military feather shall put in the Coquelicot one, as being smarter; - and besides Coquelicot is to be all the fashion this winter." (p. 26, Letters).

These glasses are said to have belonged to Cassandra Austen, Jane's older sister. They remind me of Jane's ones, which I have seen on display at the British Library. 

The gaming pieces, on the other hand, remind me of the humiliating episode at Box Hill! 

The Museum is situated in the building where the famous fossil hunter, Mary Anning, had her shop. I am fascinated by her life and had to visit her statue around the corner - I will share more about her in another post. 

No visit to Lyme Regis is complete without a walk on the Cobb. 

The walk was so pretty with the water glinting in the August sunshine. 

I also had a go at climbing down Granny's Teeth; in Persuasion, Louisa Musgrove, of course decides not to walk down these treacherous steps but tries to jump into Captain Wentworth's arms, only to fall onto the hard floor below with dreadful consequences!

I was amused by the fact that there was a warning sign at the bottom - perhaps this would have helped poor Louisa Musgrove! 

References: Le Faye, Deirdre. (2011) Jane Austen's Letters. Fourth Edition. OUP.