Sunday 17 April 2016

The Weak Bitch's Handbook: Don't Miss Your Bus in Lyme Regis


Hello, it's me, I was wondering if after all these weeks you'd still read my blog. Before I get on with the actual stuff here's a quick life update: I'm done with my sem at Warwick (drowned in essays, thus explaining the absence in March) and I'm currently on a 3-month tour around Europe.

In February I took a trip down south to Exeter to visit Olivia and we took a day trip to Lyme Regis, a coastal town known for its fossils and for being the premise of John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. I know this sounds very boring to non-lit people but I assure you Lyme was one of the quaintest little towns I'd ever been in. There were artist nooks at every corner, and every door was marked with the imprint of a fossil - utterly adorable.







We took a long walk on the beach and sat there to eat the lunch we'd made the day before. It was one of the most arduous beach walks I ever did, I'm very sure that people who put "long walks on the beach" as their hobby in online dating profiles weren't referring to this one. But seeing gigantic fossils embedded in the beach made up for the fact that my knees were REKT after that.

Perhaps the most famous part of the beach is the Cobb, a man-made breakwater-ish thing (lol my descriptive skills are ace) that dates back to the 1300s.

If anyone was wondering how to get to Lyme Regis, I believe the most direct way is to take the X54, X53, or X51 from Axminster Station and drop off at the post office, it's a 20 minute ride. That stop is right in the centre of town and the coast is only 5 minutes away, you'll be able to see it once you alight. Getting to Axminster is like how you'd get to any other town or city in the UK, just use trainline and key it in as your destination and hope for affordable tickets.

We stopped for a cornish pasty for tea and had a rather mediocre dinner at a restaurant by the sea, and I swear we'd checked the bus schedule to make sure we got there on time to make the last bus back to the train station. The only problem? WE WENT TO THE WRONG BUS STOP. And so you know how it goes in England, you miss the bus you die. And the last bus didn't leave near midnight like in Singapore mind you, it was bloody 6pm. 

Picture this, two stranded asian girls trying to hitchhike (unsuccessfully, I may add) in the dark. It was not yet Spring so the sun had already set by then, and the only way we could get to the train station according to another bus driver was to walk or take a cab. Thank goodness we didn't walk because there were no streetlights or pavements for a good 5km. Seriously bus driver what kind of suggestion was that?! 

Also, there were no public taxis plying the streets because Lyme Regis is a ghost town at night, so Olivia and I started thinking of worst case scenarios. 1. Uber 2. Taxi 3. Stay the night at a local inn and take the bus back in the morning. 

Plan 1 didn't work because there were no ubers. Plan 2 worked, but we had to go into a hotel and get their contacts for private taxi companies, call at least 5 of them before finding one that would pick us up from the hotel. We eventually got back home safe and sound, but the worst thing is that earlier that day I had already spent an extra 35 quid on a bus from Birmingham to Exeter because I missed my bus from warwick that led to me missing my train from coventry that meant I missed another train from Birmingham. Tough luck my friends. Moral of the story? Don't miss your bus in Lyme Regis. Don't miss any form of public transport in England because THAT SHIT COSTS A HELL LOT OF MONEY. 



But you know what? Friendships cannot be quantified by money my friends, and that's why I'd still do this all over again. Anything for you Olivia, anything for you.

1 comment :

  1. Read this when you posted it, but I'm commenting now because I'm having a good laugh just as much as I did the first time reading it!

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