The last leg of this driving holiday is to Lyme Regis on the Jurassic Coastline in southern England. It’s an area that keeps attracting us to visit as it has the type of scenery we love. The country fields meet the rugged coastline and the seas. Picturesque is the word I would use to describe this area and still quintessentially English.

We arrive way too early to get into our accommodation, so we park up and stroll the streets and waterfront. It’s a warm afternoon which has attracted a lot of visitors to the area though it doesn’t feel overcrowded.

There is a local charitable event named Stampede by the Sea going on where statues of elephants have been scattered around the township, each painted by local artists and celebrities. The goal is to track down all of them, take photos as evidence and then enter the draw to win a prize. It’s fun and takes you to parts of the town which you may not have visited before. At the end of the event the elephants will be auctioned off to raise funds for a local hospice charity. We start strong and then find out that there are 59 of them scattered across three townships so opt to just focus on the Lyme Regis waterfront. The photos of the elephants are Stacey’s and show that she is becoming a very capable accomplice for these adventures.

Two side trips give us a chance to visit a local winery and the township of Sidmouth on the coastline. This enchanting coastal town has a coastal walkway that shows you the promenade then rounds a corner to reveal the real ruggedness of the coastline. It’s also the home to a few beautiful old hotels which have commanding views of the waterfront.

Our next stop is a very pretty area named Durdle Door where the ongoing fight between the land and sea has created some interesting formations and holes. It’s a dusty and steep walk down to the main feature of the shoreline, which reveals a large hole in the rock face. It’s an equally breathtaking walk back up, with an incredible number of people staggering to the top.

We loop back to London marking the end of this particular trip having driven 3500km all up, though we are back on the road in early May, this time for a driving loop of Ireland. We have not been to the land of Guinness, Leprechauns, The Shamrock and Irish Whiskey so we are full of anticipation…