Charmouth

Charmouth is a village at the mouth of the River Char in west Dorset, about 3 miles from Lyme Regis. The South West Coast Path passes through, and Golden Cap is a walk to the east.

Most visitors come for the beach. It is a mix of sand and shingle: the west beach has the larger pebbles, while the east beach has smaller pebbles and more dry sand. You reach it by following Lower Sea Lane from the village centre, and there are car parks close to the sand. The east beach needs a footbridge, or a wade through the river at low tide. The west beach runs about a mile and a half towards Lyme Regis. Charmouth Beach has more on the sand and the tides.

Charmouth is known for fossils. Pyrite ammonites and belemnites turn up loose among the pebbles, so there is no need to break rock, and hammering the cliff is not permitted on this World Heritage Site beach. The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, in the old cement factory on the foreshore at Lower Sea Lane, has fossil collections, free entry and guided fossil walks.

Golden Cap stands between Charmouth and Bridport. It is 191 metres high and owned by the National Trust. Charmouth has no railway station, and the nearest town with one is Axminster, 5 miles away.