Lyme Regis

Lyme Regis has never had large chain hotels, and that is part of its appeal. Instead, the town's accommodation is built around converted Georgian townhouses, former coaching inns and family-run guest houses, many of them just a few minutes' walk from The Cobb and the harbour. Staying centrally means giving up a car parking space outside your door, but it puts the sea, the museums and the evening restaurant scene within easy reach on foot, which suits a town this compact and this steep.

At the top end, expect period buildings with sea views, restaurants attached to the hotel itself and rooms that lean into the town's maritime and literary history rather than generic luxury branding. The mid-range covers former coaching inns turned into comfortable, well-located hotels with restaurants and bars that double as a night out for non-residents, useful in a town with a limited late-evening dining scene. Bed and breakfasts and guest houses make up a strong third tier here, several of them in listed buildings with genuine character, personal service from owner-managers, and some of the best breakfasts in town using local produce.

Booking ahead matters more in Lyme Regis than in many larger resorts. Rooms are limited by the size and age of the buildings that house them, and the town fills quickly for its summer festivals, half-term weeks and any spell of good coastal weather. Whichever budget you're working to, a central location within walking distance of the harbour is achievable, and worth prioritising given how much of the town's appeal lies in wandering its lanes and seafront rather than driving between attractions.

Lyme Regis rewards slow exploration on foot, but these are the attractions most visitors build a day around.

• The Cobb is the town's iconic curved stone harbour wall, built in the 13th century and rebuilt many times since; walk its full length for views back across the bay and out along the coast.
• Lyme Regis Museum stands on the site of Mary Anning's former home and tells the story of the town's fossils, shipwrecks and literary connections through hands-on displays.
• Fossil hunting on Monmouth Beach lets you search the foreshore at low tide for ammonites and belemnites; a guided walk with a local expert is the safest way to try it, especially near the unstable cliffs.
• Dinosaurland Fossil Museum, housed in a former chapel, packs in complete fossil skeletons, ammonites and a life-size dinosaur display that appeals to children and serious collectors alike.
• Lyme Regis Marine Aquarium, built out over the harbour wall, is one of the oldest working aquariums in the country and gives a close look at the marine life living just offshore.
• The Marine Theatre puts on live music, comedy and film in a seafront venue that has served the town for over a century.
• Lyme Regis Town Mill is a working watermill and small artisan quarter with a bakery, pottery and brewery tucked into its old millstream buildings.
• The South West Coast Path climbs east out of town towards Charmouth and west towards Uplyme and the Undercliff, an eerily beautiful landslip nature reserve that featured in The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Seafood defines the town's food scene, much of it landed just along the coast. Rockfish on the seafront serves sustainably sourced fish and shellfish in a relaxed, family-friendly dining room with harbour views, while Restaurant Robin Wylde, run by chef Harriet Mansell, offers a tasting menu built around Dorset produce and foraged ingredients. For a simpler treat, the town's fish and chip shops serve straight-off-the-boat cod and plaice to eat looking out over the bay, and several harbourside cafes do a good line in local crab sandwiches and Lyme Bay scallops. The Monmouth Pantry stocks bread, cheese and produce from nearby farms including Tamarisk Farm and Trill Farm, useful for putting together a picnic to take up onto the coast path. Pubs such as the Royal Standard, right on the beach, and the town's older coaching inns serve local ciders and real ales alongside classic pub food, and a small weekly farmers' market brings together Dorset growers and producers selling fruit, veg, cheese and baked goods in the town centre.

Lyme Regis itself has no campsites within the town, its steep valley setting leaves no room for one, but a small cluster of well-regarded, family-run sites sit within a mile or two, close enough to walk or cycle in along quiet lanes and the coast path. This makes camping a genuinely practical way to base a stay here, rather than a compromise, and it tends to work out considerably cheaper than the town's limited hotel stock during peak summer weeks.

The closest sites lie just over the Devon border in Uplyme, reached by a pleasant riverside footpath into town, and just east towards Charmouth, both giving easy access to Lyme Regis's beach, museums and restaurants without the parking difficulties of staying centrally. Facilities range from simple, quiet touring pitches to larger holiday parks with pools and on-site shops, so it's worth matching the site to what you actually want from the stay, whether that's a peaceful farm setting or family-friendly extras for a longer summer break.

All three sites below are working farms or long-established family businesses rather than corporate holiday park chains, and each has direct or near-direct walking access to the Jurassic Coast path. Electric hook-up and dog-friendly pitches are available at all three, though pool and wifi provision varies, so check the individual facilities if either is essential to your trip. As with the hotels, early booking is strongly advised for the school summer holidays and the town's festival weeks.