Everything about Lyme Bay totally explained
Lyme Bay is an area of the
English Channel situated in the southwest of
England between
Torbay in the west and
Portland in the east. The counties of
Devon and
Dorset front onto the bay.
The area around Lyme Bay is part of a
World Heritage Site, the
Jurassic Coast, named for its
Jurassic geology. The Jurassic Coast runs from near
Swanage in the
Isle of Purbeck to near
Exmouth in
East Devon. Many of the earliest discoveries of
dinosaur and other
prehistoric reptile remains were in the area surrounding
Lyme Regis and
Charmouth. Notable among these were the discoveries made by self-educated
paleontologist and fossil collector
Mary Anning, in the 1820s.
The weather in the bay is temperate by English standards, and far more temperate than many other places at a similar latitude. The reason for this is the warming action of the
Gulf Stream. The area along the coast of Lyme Bay is thus a popular holiday destination. On
22 March 1993, four schoolchildren died in what is known as the
Lyme Bay kayaking tragedy.
Lyme Bay was the site of
Exercise Tiger, a practice run for the
D-Day invasion of
France in 1944, using the beach called Slapton Sands near
Slapton, Devon as the practice landing area. The operation went horribly wrong when
German E-boats appeared on the scene and killed 749
American Army and
Navy personnel in the middle of the bay.
A new ship currently under construction for the
Royal Fleet Auxiliary carries the name of the area,
RFA Lyme Bay.
The beached
container ship,
MSC Napoli, is visible from Lyme Bay.
Wildlife
The
diving off Lyme Bay is famous. As well as some tank wrecks from the D-Day practice, the marine life is some of the best in Britain and includes the
Devon cup coral (
Caryophyllia smithii) and rare
pink sea fan (
Eunicella verrucosa). The reefs have been under threat from scallop dredging which, if unregulated, might destroy the coral's habitat.
Devon Wildlife Trust has been campaigning to protect the reefs, calling for an end to the dredging and trawling within a 60sq mile zone to help the reefs recover. Thankfully about 20% of this area is now protected by a voluntary agreement made between the DEFRA and the enlightened fishermen of the South West Inshore Fishermen's Association. The reefs that the fishermen have agreed to protect from towed fishing gear are home to a spectacular marine diversity that will now thrive in peace.
Settlements
Rivers
River Axe
River Exe
River Otter
Other features
Virtle RockFurther Information
Get more info on 'Lyme Bay'.
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