Lyme Regis, deservedly known as 'the Pearl of Dorset', attracts visitors at all times of the year to enjoy its very special quality. Traditionally a seaside resort, the old town also holds in its narrow streets and historic harbour reminders of its past as an important south coast port. The unique Cobb, once a bustling hub of international trade, is now a place of colour, relaxation and pleasure, with its ancient structures, bobbing boats, strolling visitors and weather-worn buildings.

Inland stretches Devon and Dorset's superb countryside, a patchwork of fields and woods interlaced with pretty lanes and footpaths for those with a little time to explore them.

Back in the town, a wealth of interest awaits the visitor.

Whether it is shops, the museum, the Town Mill, fossil displays, the seafront and beaches, the Marine Theatre, cinema, churches, bowling green and golf course, a host of restaurants and public houses, the promenade, aquarium, Langmoor Gardens or just the age-old streets you wish to explore, a treat is in store.

Lyme boasts many literary connections. Jane Austen, Henry Fielding, William Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and J R R Tolkien all visited the town. The birthplaces of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas Hardy are a short drive away.

John Fowles, author of The French Lieutenant's Woman, lives in the town and the film of the book, starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons, was made here - including the stormy scene on The Cobb, our harbour breakwater.