It seems impossible now but there were five days in 2020 where life almost felt normal. We drove down to Lyme Regis in Dorset and stayed in a fisherman's hut by the seaside. It was one of the most simple yet idyllic trips we've ever taken. Our trip to Lyme Regis was originally meant to be a family holiday with Stephen's parents in June but, like our trip to Lanzarote in March, it was cancelled. We rescheduled for just the two of us in September and our trip took place in the brief window of time between lockdown easing and tier restrictions being announced again. In fact, tier restrictions were announced on our last day in Dorset.
We booked the reasonably priced Fisherman's Hut through Lyme Bay Holidays. We were amongst the first customers to stay in the hut and we were pleased with how clean and hygienic it was. Our hosts were absolutely lovely and made sure that we had everything we needed. The photo above shows the view down to the sea and we spent many hours lying on the sun loungers, drinking homemade cocktails and enjoying the view.
We took long walks every morning. Lyme Regis is the perfect size to get in those holiday steps. We walked out onto the Cobb when it was safe to do so but even then, the winds were fierce and threatened to blow us into the sea.
Naturally, it looked perfectly calm out there without a hint of how slippery and wet the walk was.
Part of the Jurassic Coast, Lyme Regis is fossil country and if you're lucky you can find ancient little fossils on the beach. I didn't find any fossils but will definitely try again next time.
One word of advice: Lyme Regis is popular so if you're ever going to visit, be sure to book restaurants in advance. I only thought to book a week ahead and we only managed to secure two bookings for our five day stay.
Our favourite meal was at the Millside where we sat outside on the dog-friendly patio and enjoyed a dozen oysters and a Fruits de Mer sharing platter for two. We were very keen to visit the Millside again during our stay but alas, weren't successful in securing another booking and were honestly lucky to have secured our Sunday afternoon booking in the first place. We also ate at Mark Hix's Oyster & Fish House but unfortunately weren't overly impressed with any of the food there.
We enjoyed several breakfasts at the open air Beach House Cafe on the Marine Parade. They have an entire menu of different types of shakshouka and their food was delicious and very reasonably priced.
We also enjoyed several breakfasts and lunches at Swim on the beach. We sat outside on the balcony, enjoying the sea views and their excellent coffee. The staff at Swim were excellent at socially-distanced dining and made us feel completely safe, something which was incredibly important at the time (and will no doubt be important again when Britain reopens).
We had a marvellous time in Lyme Regis and we'd love to visit again. We're also on the lookout for other small seaside towns with excellent seafood.
Did you manage to get away last year? What are your plans for this year?
