Day Three of our Jane Austen tour - Thursday, June 20 - took us to Lyme Regis, a seaside resort town on England's southern coast.
This morning I was running a little behind, and did not get a photo of me in front of the house before we left to meet the coach for our drive to the shore. I even ended up doing my Regency curls in the coach:
I was also busily employed with adding a new ribbon to my bonnet:
I tacked it rather haphazardly, trying for a carefree effect. I'm not sure of the historical accuracy of the look, but I enjoyed it.
Our coach driver for the day was also named Chris, though not the same Chris as
Day Two.
 |
| Chris II |
He very kindly slowed down a bit as we drove by these workers actively re-thatching a thatched roof, so we could all take pictures!
It's certainly not something we see every day as Americans!
Once we landed in Lyme Regis, our fearless tour guide Anne-Marie took us immediately down to the shore so we could experience The Cobb.
One of my travel companions (I can't remember now who it was) took some of my favorite shots of the entire trip there! When I got back home I hired my friend
Gloria to edit out an errant tourist who photobombed Every. Single. Shot. of my otherwise people-free landscape. She did an amazing job!
As you can probably tell, it was extremely windy down at the shore!
Very moody seas.
I was glad I had thought to sew some ties inside my bonnet!
After thoroughly photographing the shoreline, I wandered back up towards the town to rejoin our group. On the way I passed a lovely rock garden, and you know how I can't resist flowers:
Got some selfies, just for fun:
Anne-Marie showed us the house where Jane Austen once stayed, on a visit to Lyme Regis.
I of course had to get a photo of me (pretending I'm) knocking on the door:
I bought several postcards of Lyme Regis, as it was one of the most picturesque towns I've ever seen.
I had a small mishap in this spot, after setting down my reticule on the low wall in the photo above - a gull snatched it and tried to fly off with it! Fortunately it didn't get very far, and when it landed ten feet away I was able to shoo it away and reclaim my belongings. But I learned a valuable lesson!
And before heading back to the coach for the drive back to Bath, I bought myself lunch:
It was my first Cornish pasty, and it was delicious!
I was disappointed - but not surprised - by how deflated my curls were, after all the wind they had endured:
We got back "home" in time to do some exploring in Bath that afternoon, so I took the opportunity to visit the Roman Baths. It was definitely worth it! The tour was self-guided, with hand-held audio devices that gave you more info about the sights in and around (and under!) the excavated bath house:
It was very cool to see the preserved Roman architecture, including statues:
I opted to remain in my Regency dress for the rest of the day, though I left my Spencer jacket back at the house. It had been necessary down by the sea, but back in Bath it was warmer - and not as windy!
I also got some photos of the beautiful Bath Abbey:
And I even had time to do a bit of shopping!
I had found this fabric shop on a previous evening's wandering, but it was closed for the day. So I came back now during business hours:
This window display had caught my eye:
The inside of the shop was absolutely crammed with fabric! I'd never seen anything like it:
I ended up getting a metre of the gorgeous yellow "liquid satin" I'd seen in the window. Still have yet to make anything from it, though. :p
Next I walked across town to
VV Rouleaux, which I had been told I MUST visit. And I was not disappointed!
This display was outside the shop:
And inside was every color and variety of ribbon you can imagine:
As it happened, I needed some ribbon to decorate my other straw hat to coordinate with my
Blue Velveteen Bodice for Saturday. I bought some beautiful dark blue silk ribbon for that purpose, and several other lengths of various colors of silk ribbon for no reason at all!
