Anne Elliot visits Lyme Regis, the seaside resort featured in Jane Austen's Persuasion. The coastal town becomes the setting for one of the novel's most dramatic episodes, centred on the Cobb harbour wall.
Anne travels there with members of the Musgrove family and Captain Wentworth while visiting his naval friends, Captain Harville and Captain Benwick. At Lyme, Louisa Musgrove repeatedly insists on jumping from the Cobb into Wentworth's arms. On her second attempt, he is not ready to catch her, and she suffers a serious concussion.
Anne responds calmly and intelligently, organising help while the others panic. Her behaviour impresses Wentworth and contributes to his renewed understanding of her strength and character. Lyme therefore marks an important turning point in their relationship.
The town is a real place on the Dorset coast, near the Devon border. Austen herself visited Lyme Regis, and its harbour wall remains closely associated with Persuasion. It is sometimes confused with Bath, where much of the later action occurs, or with the fictional resort of Sanditon.