The Lyme Regis Fossil Festival 2024

Looking for a day out full of exploration and adventure, then head to the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival, celebrating the famous history around the UNESCO World Heritage and geological Jurassic Coast.

Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about this fabulous festival and all the activities on offer…

When is The Lyme Regis Fossil Festival?

The Lyme Regis Fossil Festival takes place over the weekend of Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th of June. This FREE, family-friendly festival showcases a wide range of activities and exhibitions. Set up by fossil enthusiasts in 2005, the event showcases and celebrates geology, earth sciences and the stunning Jurassic coastline.

The Lyme Regis Fossil Festival 2024 is an event for the whole family and offers something for everyone to enjoy! Whether you have been fossil hunting in the past or you are considering it for the first time, the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival offers attractions and activities for all ages and experience levels. Get ready to explore the Jurassic Coast!

Lyme Regis Fossil Festival – What’s On

Many areas of the town are hosting events across the weekend, from the Marine Theatre to the Lyme Regis Museum. Here are some of the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival highlights…

Expert Talks at The Hub

There are plenty of expert talks to enjoy throughout the weekend including “Recreating the Real Loch Ness Monster” by Dr Luke Muscutt and “A Tour Through Time” by Kallie Moore. There’s no need to book for these events, you can just drop into The Hub on Church Street, Lyme Regis.

Author Talks and Book Signings

Head to The Lyme Regis Museum for a range of author talks and book signings. Again, there’s no need to book for these events – just drop in. Book signings include “What’s Your Favourite Dinosaur?” by Guy Naamati and Petra Korlevic and “The Little Book of Palaeontology” by Rasha Barrage.

Entry to the museum will be free all weekend.

Fossil Walks

There are two guided fossil walks to choose from; one on Saturday at noon and the other on Sunday at 12:45 with the Lyme Regis Museum. Walk around this historic town with expert guides. Learn about the history of the area and why this place is so active with fossils. Go fossil hunting on Lyme’s famous East Beach and even discover your own fossils to take home.

These are ticketed events that can be booked online here. Walks last between 2.5 and 3 hours.

Jurassic Coast Boat Trips

There are several Jurassic Coast boat trips across the weekend with expert guides showcasing this stunning coastline from the water. The boat trip lasts approximately 45 minutes and sets off from The Cobb along the seafront.

Marine Theatre Shows

On Sunday afternoon, head to the Dinosaur Timewarp Show at the Marine Theatre from 1pm. This fully interactive Jurassic Panto-style adventure is full of music and a whole variety of fun and games. Can you help Terry the T-Rex back to the past? This is a fun event for all the family!

Other events across the weekend include face painting, British Antarctic Survey Exhibitions, book signings and expert talks.

For more details visit the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival website or book onto one of the ticketed events here.

Lyme Regis Fossils

The area around Lyme Regis has been linked through the ages with fossil discovery, partly due to the work of Mary Anning. Born in 1799, she lived in Lyme Regis and spent a lot of her time along the coastline searching for what she called ‘curiosities’.

Over the years to follow she unearthed many incredible discoveries that with better knowledge she realised were actually fossils. She became famous in her field and one of the most important scientists of the day. Fast forward to the present day, Mary is now remembered as being one of the greatest fossil hunters to have ever lived.

Visit her story in the Lyme Regis Museum before stepping out onto the beach and see what you can discover!

Festival Venues

You can find a map of all the venues for the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival here: Fossil Festival Map.

Getting to the Festival

Car

Whether you’re coming from the north, east, or west, there are several routes that will take you to the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival:

• From the North: Take the M5, A37, A3066, A30, A358, A35, or B3165.
• From the East: Use the A30, A354, A338, A303, A31, or A35.
• From the West: Travel via the A30, A35, or A3052.

If you’re driving an electric vehicle, there are EV charge points conveniently located at The Alexandra Hotel and in the car parks at Monmouth Beach, Holmbush, Woodmead, and Charmouth Road.

Bus

Several bus routes connect Lyme Regis with surrounding towns and cities:

• First Bus, Route 31: Runs between Axminster and Dorchester.
• X53 Jurassic Coast Bus: Connects Axminster and Weymouth.
• Route 9A: Operates between Exeter and Lyme Regis.
• X52: Travels between Exeter and Bridport.

National Express coaches stop at Dorchester, where you can transfer to the Jurassic Coaster X51 bus that takes you to Lyme Regis.

Train

The nearest railway station to Lyme Regis is at Axminster, which is just six miles away.

• From the South East: South Western Railway offers a direct service between London Waterloo and Exeter, stopping at Woking, Basingstoke, Salisbury, Axminster, and other stations along the way.
• From Birmingham and the Midlands: You’ll need to change trains at Exeter.

To plan your journey and buy tickets in advance, visit the National Rail website. Once you arrive at Axminster, you can either catch a taxi (we recommend booking in advance) or take bus numbers X51 or X53 to Lyme Regis town centre.

Are you heading to the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival? Book a stay in one of these holiday cottages in Lyme Regis and take on the fossil hunting challenge in this stunning region of Dorset.

For further inspiration in Lyme Regis, see the best walks in the Lyme Regis area and 11 of the best beaches in Lyme Regis.