South West Sea Kayaking

West Bay harbour in Dorset was the place where nauseating Nick Berry TV drama ‘Harbour Lights’ was filmed. However it has put this atrocity behind it and has seen huge redevelopment in recent years, including a new harbour entrance and breakwater.

We paddled in a (very) leisurely style from West Bay to Lyme Regis, with long stops for Heather to hunt for fossils. We also took in Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast. The fact that it’s still April lulled us into a false sense of security and we’re burned to a crisp.

Tomorrow I take 49 school children to Belgium. Back Wednesday night.

Mary Anning (1799-1847) of Lyme Regis worked as a fossil finder, selling her discoveries to curious tourists. Her life and career saw fossil collecting develop from quirky pastime to scientific investigation. Anning earned an international reputation among the scientific community for the quality of her finds, which included the first plesiosaur. Anning’s finds played a role in the developing evolutionary and extinction theories.

Anning’s talent as a fossil finder was aided by the remarkable Blue Lias limestone in the cliffs around Lyme Regis. The rock originated 195 million years ago when the area was a warm shallow sea.