how to get to Lyme Regis from Bath

This is not a journey I have done myself, but you may like to investigate the following. Train from Bath either to Weymouth or to Exeter (change trains at Bristol). You can look up the times at National Rail Enquiries (www.nationalrail.co.uk). Then take the X53 Jurassic Coast bus either eastwards from Exeter or westwards from Weymouth. (www.jurassiccoast.com/downloads/Getting%20around%20the%20Jurassic%20Coast/coastlinx53_summer_2012_web.pdf). The bus journey is very scenic. Your problem may be matching up the different times, but both Exeter and Weymouth are interesting towns, with plenty of places for meals and shopping. Weymouth is being used this summer for Olympic sailing events, so you may want to avoid those times as the town will be very busy.

I would take the train from Bath to Axminster which is the closest train station to Lyme Regis. Then take taxi to Lyme Regis which is 4.8 miles which isn't far. It would be very easy.

Thanks for your helpful comments. I forgot to ask if anyone could estimate how long such a trip might take. We would have to go and be back to Bath w/in a day. Is this feasible?

http://www.explorethesouthwestcoastpath.co.uk/sthdorsetpt.html Here's a link that might be interesting to you.

If you want to make a day trip, then train to Axminster and taxi from there to Lyme Regis is the way to go. You can check out train times at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk or any of the other British railway sites. Just enter your departure time, and the site will tell you when and where to change trains, and the cost of tickets. Journey time is usually just under 2 hours 30 minutes, and the routing is usually with a change at Salisbury. There are some alternative journeys via Exeter. The cheapest return ticket is £34.40. Note these are weekday timings. Sundays would probably be different.

You can get the train at 7:35am in Bath arriving at 10:02am.....return times 6:06pm arrive 8:34pm or 7:02pm arriving 9:28. It's very doable. Lyme Regis is lovely, you will enjoy it.