Lyme Regis
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Lyme Regis from the Cobb |
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Lyme Regis shown within Dorset | |
Population | 3,671 |
OS grid reference | SY337922 |
• London | 130 miles (210 km) |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LYME REGIS |
Postcode district | DT7 |
Dialling code | 01297 |
Police | Dorset |
Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | lymeregis.org |
Lyme Regis /ˌlaɪmˈriːdʒɪs/ is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles (40 km) west of Dorchester and 25 miles (40 km) east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset–Devon border. It is nicknamed "The Pearl of Dorset." The town is noted for the fossils found in the cliffs and beaches, which are part of the Heritage Coast—known commercially as the Jurassic Coast—a World Heritage Site.
The harbour wall, known as "The Cobb", features in Jane Austen's novel Persuasion, and in The French Lieutenant's Woman, a novel by British writer John Fowles, as well as the 1981 film of the same name, which was partly filmed in Lyme Regis.
The town was home to Admiral Sir George Somers, its one-time mayor and parliamentarian. He founded the English colonial settlement of the Somers Isles, better known as Bermuda. Lyme Regis is twinned with St. George's, Bermuda. In July 2015 Lyme Regis was also 'tripled' with Jamestown, Virginia to form the Historic Atlantic Triangle between Lyme, St George's and Jamestown.