Jurassic Coast Day 1

Tuesday 30th June 2026

Weymouth to Lyme Regis and back

We drove west to Lyme Regis, a village on the Jurassic Coast to visit the local museum and delve into the Mary Anning story.

Mary Anning was born into a poor family, she was one of only two of her ten siblings to survive to adulthood.

At just 12 years old, she and her brother Joseph excavated the first complete Ichthyosaur (a massive, fish-like marine reptile) ever discovered.

In 1823, she unearthed the first complete skeleton of a Plesiosaur.

She taught herself geology, anatomy and scientific illustration and continued to collect and sell fossils to support the family.

Despite her contributions to science, she was largely denied formal credit, membership, or publication in scientific societies during her lifetime because she was a woman and working-class. Today, she is widely celebrated as one of the world’s greatest fossil hunters.

The museum in Lyme Regis is built on the former site of her family home and shop.