Church Beach (Lyme Regis)

The small, sandy beach of Church Cove lies to the east of Lyme Regis, not far from the town centre. It was one of the locations for the film, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” which starred Meryl Streep.

The beach can be entirely submerged at high tide but at low tide a patch of sand and a number of rock pools are uncovered. They are a great spot for finding shrimp and a variety of other shore life.

The water at the beach is not particularly clean, so it is not the best place to swim. However, the beach does offer wonderful views of The Cobb, the surrounding coast and a coastal path leading to Charmouth along the fossil-rich coast. The beach itself is cleaned every day and there is a dog ban in place during the summer months.

There are plenty of places to park near the beach, including Cobb Gate car park, about 100 meters away. Pitthouse car park is about 200 meters away from the beach, but is usually less busy.

In the town there are plenty of facilities such as a first aid post, toilets, shops, restaurants, pubs and museums. The tourist information centre is located very close to the beach.

Access to the beach is via a slipway.