D14, 15, 16 - Lyme Regis, West Bay and onwards

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My wifi is back in action! I wrote short(ish) entries for the past few days I've been wifi-less and I'm throwing them all up at once.

July 2: Lyme Regis, Monmouth Beach

Adventure day! I have no wifi so I can’t plan anything so I literally went to the bus stand with no idea where I was getting off the bus haha. At least I knew I was taking the X53 because it’s their coastal route. That’s a start? While in line (bought a weekly pass, it’s cheaper) the older gentleman behind me noted: “Do I detect an American accent?” Sigh. Canadian. Canadiannnn. He was nice though - he’s been living here in Weymouth for 20 years now, so he told me how grand it was haha. He asked about my travels so we chit chatted a bit about where I’d been before. It was nice.

Like I said, I got on the bus without a plan… but then a lot of people on the bus seemed to be talking about Lyme Regis so I thought to myself why not? It was a bit of a trek - like two hours or something, but it was well worth the journey. It was also fun just listening to the people around me - it was basically all seniors. The two guys behind me were complaining non-stop for an hour about youth being glued to their cellphones 24/7 and complaining about foreigners. Well. This is awkward 😉

First I wandered around the beach and the harbour - they have a large retaining wall (or whatever it’s called) that you aren’t allowed on if it’s windy haha. Thankfully the winds were pretty quiet, so I walked along that to the end of the pier and back. Some people were fishing off it - I wonder if they caught anything good.

I knew the Coastal Path was around here somewhere, so I wandered around looking for that next and took it westwards towards Seaton. Of course the first problem was climbing up to the path which took me into a forest and about 200 steps. Oy. But I made it to this giant field and there was a pretty good view from there. The trail continued into another wooded area where it seemed to go on forever… I was determined to get another nice view so I just kept walking. Finally I came to a sign that said there was no access to the sea or whatever between where I was and Seaton so I was eft it, I’m going back. The woods were nice though - at least it was shaded and I got to hear all sorts of birds sing. There were a ton of insects, but nothing bit me, so that’s a win too.

Back in Lyme Regis I headed back to the beach and went westwards to Monmouth Beach which is really popular with fossil hunters - people had sieves and pics, people were breaking and smashing rocks, it was quite something! I contented myself to just look at the ones on the bigger rocks that people weren’t able to take home with them. It’s a pretty impressive area - there are tons of fossils to be seen and the landscape itself is interesting because there are these giant slates of rock that are all bumpy with pools of water in them. It’s hard to describe, but it was neat to see.

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July 3: West Bay

Another beach exploration day! Today I went off to West Bay, which is where they film Broadchurch if any of you know what that is. (Google it, watch it, love it. David Tennant’s in it. Go go go.)

Anyway. Gorgeous day today - sunny and warm without being humid or too hot. I decided to start my day by climbing the cliffs - then I could enjoy the beach/coast the rest of the day. Up I went! The path I took isn’t the best of paths haha, but it did the trick. The entire way up I was like ‘shit this is going to suck coming down’ but those are the breaks. At the top was a nice view down the coastline both east and west. I plopped myself down on one of the big ledges and ate my lunch - if I’m going to climb the cliff, I’m going to take the time to enjoy it ok thanks. After my sandwich I sat and read my book for a bit and then continued along the cliff which had a path through a field of sorts. It was nice and peaceful until I got to the golf course where they were moving the lawn. Uhm. That kind of killed it haha.

The climb back down the cliff went better than I expected..? I mean, it was very slow goings don’t get me wrong haha, but I didn’t slip or anything. There was this cute older couple with their dog and they told me to go ahead since they thought I’d be quicker - I was like yeahhhh, not sure about that haha. I ended up letting them go ahead because I decided to put my camera away rather than risk it banging against something if I fell haha. But like I said, the descent went pretty well, just a lot of leaning back as I walked.

Rest of the day was spent on the beach walking down the coast - the cliffs are amazing to see from the beach - really interesting patterns in them, and they just go so high. I took my hiking boots off and strolled in the water along the beach - this is very much the life.

After about an hours walk it started to get too rocky (small pebbles rather than sand), so I went off to the side to read a bit more. I also made a doggie friend, Roxy, who came barrelling up to me and tried to steal my bag of cereal (my snack) haha. Her owners were very apologetic but I just had a good laugh. There were so many dogs on the beach - it was great fun just watching them run around and be goofs.

I’m going to guess this is when I got the sunburn, but for all places to get burnt… I burnt my knees? And only my knees. How I managed this, I have no clue.

I walked back towards West Bay and puttered around town for a bit - I got some locally made ice cream - honey and ginger stem. Whatever that was, it was delicious. The bus ride back to Weymouth was pretty quiet - I guess I beat the crowd on this one (usually this bus is packed).

Back in Weymouth I didn’t feel like going back to the hostel so I kind of bummed around the city centre. I happened upon the cinema which had a discount if the movie started before 7pm so I figured, meh why not, and went to see Fault in our Stars. Meh. I preferred the book. I *MUCH* preferred the book, even.

For supper I decided to try the Pie and Ale House which is supposed to be good. It was busy (even though it 8pm?) so I ended up sitting and eating at the bar which was fine - I had a really nice Steak & Ale pie with mushy peas and chips along with a pint of Thatchers. Nom nom nom.

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July 4: Off to Torquay

Short and quick one today - another transit day, but an easy one at least. Since I’m heading back to Weymouth in a few days they were nice enough to let me leave my backpack, so I only have to travel with a small duffle to Torquay. Woohoo! Of course he sassed me pretty hard about it haha, what a guy… but anyway. (I just realized I don’t think I talked about him - basically every interaction we had he would tease me for being so polite and Canadian.)

First I took the bus to Exeter - it’s the same one I’ve been taking the past few days, just this time I stayed to the very end. I love passing through all the small towns and seeing the cute little houses, the narrow (oh so narrow) streets and the fields full of sheep. I just love it. Passing through Seaton the views of the coast were pretty amazing - I might have to stop by on my way back.

I misjudged how close the train station was to the bus station in Exeter haha, so I didn’t wander around the city, rather I went straight to the rail station which was a 20min walk or so. I haven’t had wifi for almost 4 days so I was kind of going blind into my locations, but I found it. (Thank goodness for signs for pedestrians!) I had a cup of tea while waiting for my train, then an hour later I was in Torquay! Youpie.

Again, since I haven’t had wifi my planning has been limited… I knew I had to walk along the coast until I got to Sh…something or other Hill and then turn left which would bring me to the correct street. I should have known that a road with the name “Hill” in it would be a giant hill. Oh bother. But at least I didn’t have my giant backpack!

Other than that very lazy day. I went back down to the seafront after I checked in, but it was pouring rain and super windy (… my umbrella finally broke. Sigh.), so I’ve now retreated to my hostel where I will actually use wifi and get organized again!

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