From Uplyme, shady paths beside the river Lim lead to the renovated mill in the middle of old Lyme Regis; the waterwheel is geared to millstones that grind wheat into flour, and a micro hydro system generates 32,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Before 10.30am, the associated tearoom, galleries and workshops remain quiet, but the nearest car park is already full. Sun sparkles on the sea; a flotilla of sailing dinghies is heading out and a gig cuts across the bay.
Land and cliffs on the eastern side of town have been stabilised and protected by a new seawall; beyond this, towards the Spittles, morning sun highlights dangerous cliffs, made of alternating layers of slippery grey clay and pale, lumpy limestone that overhang the rough and muddy shoreline. Farther up the coast, Golden Cap is cloud-free, and visibility extends to the hazy Isle of Portland.
Back by the clock on the front, near the fossil shop, buses drop off passengers; in the summery warmth visitors stroll past beach huts, crowd around morris dancers and singers, and converge on food outlets along the promenade. In the revamped Langmore Gardens, families play crazy golf and, at the sandy end of the beach, swimmers and sunbathers pitch by the harbour known as the Cobb.
The protecting curved breakwater, which dates from the 13th century, was joined to the land in 1756 and, in the 19th century, rebuilt in Portland stone. Ships used to trade all over the known world from here, and a plaque commemorates locally born Sir George Somers (privateer, merchant trader and military leader). In 1618 his body, pickled in a barrel, was shipped back from Bermuda and landed here for eventual burial at nearby Whitchurch Canonicorum.
Today, in relatively calm conditions, people walk carefully above the sea on the upper walkway; others are taken off in boats for mackerel fishing and scenic trips. Outside the bouldery point, where shags perch above the waves, the little boats dip and roll across the open sea as they pass westwards, off the pebbly shore, backed by the undercliff with its tangled vegetation and bare landslides.
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