28 Sept, 16.00 - 18.30 - Walk & Talk: Richard Edmonds on Saving Lyme just in Time
Over the last 30 years Lyme Regis has had over £60 million of Government grants protecting it from the ravages of the sea. That is a large amount of money for a small town, but that is because 'we're worth it'! There is no unlimited budget for coastal defences; they have to be value for money, environmentally acceptable and guaranteed to work. And the problem was complex as it is not just erosion from the sea but the unzipping of ancient landslides that actually threatened the town. The engineers from the old West Dorset District Council worked with geologists and geomorphologists (the study of landforms and erosional/depositional processes) to deliver a phased scheme based on priority over a workable timeframe, the last 30 years, and have succeeded in their task, other than the urgent work to protect the Cobb. We will start with phase 1, Gun Cliff, the old town, move to Phase 4 East Cliff and then walk back to Phase 2&4, the sea front and gardens.
This is an easy walk, about a mile and a half of level walk along the sea front with a little up into Langmoor Gardens. Starting point: the BIG anchor at the bottom of town.