The Ammonite Pavement and the River Lim.

Start. Lyne Regis (Monmouth Beach car park).

Route. Lyne Regis (Monmouth Beach car park) - The Cobb - Marine Parade - Church Cliff - Church Cliff Beach - Charmouth Road car park - Charmouth Road - Timber Vale Caravan Park - Dragon's Hill - Sleech Wood - River Lim - Wessex Ridgeway and Liberty Trail (paths) - Windsor Terrace - Mill Green - The Lynch - The Town Mill - Marine Parade - The Cobb - Monmouth Beach car park - Monmouth Beach - Ammonite Pavement - Monmouth Beach - Monmouth Beach car park.

Notes. Our little guide book promised a rewarding scenic walk, with a royal approach to this seaside town (Lyme Regis), my walking partner called it a pointless walk, of little interest, I’m sorry to say I agreed with her. So when we got back the guide book got tossed into the boot of the car, the walking boots stayed on and we risked twisted ankles and broken bones and even drowning, well that's a bit of an exaggeration the tide was ebbing, revealing one of the most amazing sites on the Jurassic Coast, the only one in the world, an Ammonite Pavement.

The Monmouth Beach car park marked our starting point, we walked east into the crowds, passed the harbour and The Cobb an historic pier forming an extensive harbour believed to date back to the time of Edward I. We continued along the sea front passing behind the museum and guild hall, we then continued, a good path under foot, this was part of a newish sea wall built to combat erosion in 2015. Part way along a flight of stairs greeted us, this we climbed to access Charmouth Road car park, we continued to Charmouth Road then started ascending the hill.

I hated this section, the road was busy, noisy and never ending, it ended when we reached Timber Vale Caravan Park, a discrete footpath sign pointed the way. Through the caravan site we wandered keeping left at each junction, we soon stepped onto a rough track, this guided us under low in stature Dragon’s Hill to access a path junction, a finger-post pointing down a field to Lyme Regis, was that it! a slog up a busy road followed by a walk down a field.

With Sleech Wood to our right we descended, from one field to the next to access the banks of the River Lim, it seemed we now had the Wessex Ridgway and Liberty Trail under foot, these long distance paths ushered us into the streets of Lyme. The exciting bit next, at the junction of Hill Street, Mill Green and Combs Street we joined The Lynch, a raised footpath separating the River Lim and a mill head race, this guided us passed Lepers Well Garden to the Town Mill complex, then out to the sea front from where we re-traced our steps.

Feeling cheated we decided a walk to Seven Rock Point, explore the Ammonite Pavement, only accessible at low tide, the tide was ebbing so off we went. A word of warning this is a sensible footwear walk, easy to damage yourself, take it easy. Passed many caravans we walked before chancing boulder strewn Monmouth Beach, the going was slow, treacherous at times but the objective was worth it, after a good look around we carefully picked our way back.

view route map.

home.

Viewing The Cobb from the sea front at Lyme Regis.

Seen from Church Cliff Beach, the cliffs of Cain's Folly.

On the edge of Charmouth Road car park looking towards Golden Cap.

The River Lim.

Windsor Terrace, the river has been tamed to power a number of mills.

At three and a bit miles this is a short river but in the 12th century it powered three mills, today only restored Town Mill survives, and still mills flour.

The colourful streets of Lyme Regis.

The Lynch a raised path between the River Lim and the head race carrying water to power Town Mill.

This well is said to date from the 14th century or earlier and to be the only remaining structure of a mediaeval  lepers hospital. People who had leprosy were forced to live apart from the rest of society in the Middle Ages. Leprosy was regarded as highly contagious and the result of a curse or a punishment for sinful behavior.

We,ve just come out of the Fudge Shop with bags of goodies, I'm really sorry I can't share them with you.

Sunlight on Cain's Folly.

Still painted by the sun Cain's Folly with Golden Cap looking a little somber.

The threat of a storm.

Viewing Golden Cap from Monmouth Beach.

At the western end of Monmouth Beach in Lyme Regis heading towards Seven Rock Point and Pinhay Bay, you’ll find a spectacular graveyard of fossils known as the Ammonite Pavement....

....here the remains of thousands of ammonites, an extinct group of marine mollusc's, are embedded in the limestone ledge. The rocks record a time 199 million years ago, when marine ecosystems were returning to normal after the Late Triassic period mass extinction....

....the main species is the dinner plate-sized ammonite, Coroniceras. Most of the ammonites have a well-preserved outer coil and a crushed middle. Some of the remains stand proud of the limestone where the softer rock has been eroded away.

Sue gives this dinner plate sized fossil a little perspective.

From the Ammonite Pavement views back to Lyme Regis.

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