We decided we needed a post Christmas escape to shift the lethargy that settles in between the over indulgence of Christmas and the start of the new year: I suggested Lyme Regis.

I’ve visited Lyme several times, so I thought I knew what to expect: a beautiful English beach resort, basically unspoilt but with just enough kitsch to keep everyone happy.  If you’ve been to Fowey in Cornwall, Lyme has a similar feel but is closer to London – and has (a key factor where I’m concerned) a good deal more vegetarian food.

I was looking forward to it until I tried to book into a hotel.

There was literally no room at the inn: every guesthouse and hotel in Lyme declared no vacancies loud and clear. I remembered the received wisdom that holiday towns are dead from October till the end of April: clearly this meant that even the guest house owners and hoteliers had shut up for the winter and headed for sunnier climes. Trying to put this to the back of my mind (after all, we could still enjoy ourselves walking on deserted beeches, couldn’t we?), I eventually managed to reserve a room in Illminster, Somereset, some 12 miles inland.

So it was that on the 28^th December 2014, we headed for the West Country, wondering what would we do in deserted Lyme? And even more importantly, what could we eat?

For those not familiar with the town, there are many, many interesting small and medium sized shops, tea houses galore, restaurants, a quaint old cinema, the beautiful cob and beach. We loved Ilminster but nonetheless we headed to Lyme. It was a beautiful day, and to our utter surprise the town was full to bursting and everything was open.

We took our breakfast next morning in the beachfront cafe, sitting outside warmly wrapped up against the sea breeze, but in the sun; at the end of December, in England.

We strolled around the town, walked on the beach. Everywhere was busy, everyone was enjoying the sunshine. But I was still puzzled: how had the businesses known that there would be good weather and that it would be worth their while opening? When we stopped for lunch, I asked our waiter. Apparently, Christmas in Lyme is always lovely and always busy: all the businesses know it and cater accordingly.

So now we know. I love living near London most of the time – but every so often a trip to a place like Lyme is a real tonic – I’ll just need to remember to book early next time.  Definitely the place for a winter weekend break.