Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre — Attraction in Charmouth

Fabulous coastline with lots of places to walk be it along a cliff or on the beach. Fossils are found regularly on the beach and relatively easily. There is a cafe with a slightly strange setup where you order in the shop and then go next door to get your order fulfilled but it's a fairly good arrangement overall. Parking is adequate and there are plenty of spaces. It is paid by app, which is quite confusing for those who don't live locally and haven't downloaded the app however I suggest you research it and make sure you don't get a ticket. I believe I read the sun correctly that disabled customers do not have to pay but because Dorset and Devon have different rules and there is a special scheme for local disabled people to register with I wasn't prepared to take the chance and I paid. There is a fabulous fossil shop with some amazing things inside some of which are fossilised tree trunks which are highly valued and beautiful. There is also an ichthyosaurus head which was found in the year 2000 and has been pieced together and placed at the rear of the fossil shop. As historical and valuable as it may be the museums have enough of them and so it is proudly on display by the owner and it is definitely worth seeing this huge fossilised head of a dinosaur in museum quality at the back of a small shop. Definitely recommend a visit and a great place to take the children. Nice little cafe good little shop beautiful views beautiful walks and...

The heritage centre itself is a lovely place in an incredible location however the cafe is a total rip off and I think they need to start treating their many customers with some more respect.

Purchased a bacon roll for 4.50. now for that price you would expect a good quality bun with a decent helping of bacon and some quality sauce to go with it.

Not at the heritage centre cafe!

No, what you get here for the best part of 5 pounds is a floury doughy bun with a scraping of what tastes like margarine topped with two very thin poor quality bacon rashers that are far too small for the oversized bun.

You may think at this point. "Oh well some decent brown sauce will make this better"

You're out of luck.

You will be met with possibly the worst quality brown and red sauces you'll ever find. Vinegary and thin and lacking all semblance of colour or taste.

The whole situation not just the awful quality and extortionate price will leave a sour taste in your mouth and leave you starving hungry.

I was so hungry after the dismal "bacon roll" that I went for the "cheese sandwich" from the fridge.... Don't get me started on the "cheese sandwich"

This place needs to do more for the customer.

I estimate the cost to them inc. the bacon and sauce to make the roll was at the most...

I joined the experts from Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, a charity that provides information on fossils, fossil hunting and the local coastal and marine wildlife, on a guided fossil hunt on the beach. They made it very clear and fun for everyone, from the little kids to the older folks in our group. We had enough guides to help us and answer our questions. I recommend wearing sturdy footwear because the beach is rocky and uneven. One of the highlights of the day was seeing the Attenborough’s Sea Dragon, an incredible ichthyosaur fossil that was discovered by a local collector and featured in a BBC documentary. It was amazing to see how well preserved it was and to learn about its life and death in the Jurassic era. I also learned that Charmouth is one of the best places to find fossils on the Jurassic Coast, and that many different types of fossils can be found here, such as ammonites, belemnites, crinoids, fish, sea urchins and even dinosaur bones. It was fascinating to see the variety and beauty of these ancient creatures.

The area is lovely, and we will be revisiting to do more walks on both the beach and the cliff tops.

There are toilets and a cafe at the Heritage centre and two car parks, which are on the...