A day in Seatown

When David and Barbara announced that they intended leaving their acreage at the southern end of the Sunshine coast to see out their days in the back blocks of Devon, I am sure that we weren't the only ones who wondered quietly to themselves whether or not that was a particularly good idea.   After all it's cold in winter, and in summer too for that matter, and really there are only the sheep next door to talk to, and all of the sisters and nephews and nieces, and of course the people in the pub, and possibly a constant stream of visitors from Australia, but with those exceptions, no one.

For a retired geologist, a really good thing about living in Smeatharpe apart from the seclusion and the garden and the sheep next door is that is is located only a few tens of miles from the famous Jurassic Coast, the site of one of the richest deposits of fossils from the Jurassic Era ever found.  This is apparently some form of heaven for those with a geological bent.   To show us just what there was to get excited about we were guided along the beach at Seatown in search of ammonite fossils and a pub.

The beach had been thoughtfully designed using nicely rounded stones to protect users from gravel rash should they fall.   After a decent few minutes scratching around the ammonites remained hidden from us but fortunately we had more luck with the pub.