A review of the Rock Point Inn – a pub with rooms in Lyme Regis, which sits on the Jurassic Coast

I was lost in the moment – hypnotised by the Pearl of Dorset twinkling gently in the gloaming.

From my breathtaking vantage point my gaze drifted along the beach, past the pastel-coloured beach huts to the small harbour and the 13th-century Cobb that Meryl Streep stood dramatically at the end of in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, putting Lyme Regis on the map for good.

Bliss had enveloped me. And for that I had David, the impressive general manager of the Rock Point Inn, where I was staying, to thank (ok, plus a glass or two of lovely rose).

He told me he’d spotted that two chairs placed by the long sea-view window of our top-floor deluxe king/twin room were a bit too low for gazing activities.

He had them replaced with higher chairs – and now my partner and I were reaping the rewards.

I would recommend booking this room at the Rock Point Inn for the window-chair set-up alone.

But just in case that doesn’t do the trick, and since the St Austell Brewery, which owns it, went to the trouble of spending millions to restore this enticing 18th-century seafront tavern, which reopened in July, I’ll reveal a bit more about it – and the delightful town it’s located in.

My stay, with my partner and three-year-old daughter, was something of a nostalgia trip.

My dearly departed nan used to live in Axminster, just up a few miles inland, and a visit to Lyme Regis was a highly anticipated annual family outing in the 70s and 80s.

I remember loving the cute harbour and majestic Cobb, but most of all the calm swimmable bay and golden sand that forms a perfect arc in front of the town’s quaint buildings.

In my mind’s eye, in later years, the town always had a halo around it.

And what I found down memory lane was, thankfully, still utterly charming.

We strolled around the harbour – unchanged to my eye – and watched its contingent of small yachts and fishing boats bob in the water, sandcastles were erected on those golden grains and fish and chips from a gem of a seafront takeaway called Herbies were munched on the beach as we gawped at the dramatic fossil-rich cliffs that march eastward to Weymouth.

Lyme Regis, you see, sits on the Jurassic Coast – a stunning 96-mile-long Unesco Heritage Site stuffed with dinosaur remains.

And its major claim to fame is that Mary Anning, born there in 1799, discovered nearby the skull, with the help of her brother, of one of the first dinosaur fossils to be described by science, according to the Jurassic Coast Trust. It was named an ichthyosaur, and Mary went on to form an international reputation as a fossil hunter.

(So more accurately Meryl Streep put Lyme Regis back on the map.)

With memory lane ticked off, it was time to inspect our lodgings – via the nearby Seriously Good Wine Company shop for rose acquisition. 

The Rock Point Inn, a pub with nine rooms, occupies quite an eye-opening spot – at the mouth of the Lym River and probably just 25 footsteps from the beach.

Sturdy defences spare it from the wrath of stormy seas, but in days of yore its south-facing wall was the defence.

So it was built fortress-thick.

During the refurbishment it was decided that a big window should go in it – and it took workmen six days to cut a hole in the stonework.

But they left plenty of time in the schedule, it seems, for reworking the rest of the interior, which is homely from top to bottom.

Our boutique-y bedroom – ‘No7’ – was wonderfully inviting. Big, with a vaulted ceiling, but still cosy, thanks to a huge comfy bed with multiple pillows and cushions, exposed beams and soothing pastel tones.

An impressively swish ensuite offered up classic sideways tiling, a rainshower and gigantic standalone tub.

And let’s award bonus points for the nautically themed balustrade and stair handrail made from thick rope and handily placed plug sockets – by the bed on both sides and by the sea-view window, to eliminate the possibility of a dying battery thwarting a quick Instagram upload.

We had a peek at a few of the other rooms while they were being cleaned – Guncliff, Lynch and Somers – and they were smaller, but similarly beguiling.

Downstairs David and his consistently chirpy, helpful and efficient team ensure you always feel looked after and there are more sea views to be lapped up on the terrace, where we had breakfast. Come winter, the bar room with the new window will become the prime spot I’d imagine, thanks to its wood-burning stove.

The only slight wobble was the dining, but partly because the rooms set the bar so high. 

I had a comforting burger with fries for dinner with a good French red wine (Chateau Sergant) and a tasty, nicely presented full English the next day. But there was no wow factor – standard fare compared to the gourmet accommodation.

All the same, we have vowed to return to Rock Point Inn – a pub that definitely brightens the Lyme Regis halo.