My Coast: Sophie Conran

My favourite bit of coastline is from Burton Bradstock in Dorset down to Beer in Devon. My mum bought a house in Bettiscombe village, which is close to Lyme Regis, in the late Eighties, so I’ve been going down there since then. It’s hard to pick a favourite place. Burton Bradstock is fantastic. I’ve got friends who’ve bought a hotel there, which was a retirement home. They’ve done it up and it overlooks the sea. It’s next to the Hive Beach Café and is called The Seaside Boarding House.

A little bit further down is West Bay, which is lovely. It’s got an amazing restaurant called The Riverside Restaurant, and there’s that incredible cliff, which is sort of honeycomb. It’s crumbly but beautiful, and there are long, long walks all along that beach.

Lyme Regis is a great place to wander around in. It’s got a steep high street, with lots of gorgeous old shops, and on the right-hand side of the harbour, you can find fossils just scattered all over the beach.

My other favourite village is Beer: it’s wonderful to sit on the beach and watch the fishing boats coming in and out. It has a sweet café called Ducky’s, which does a great crab sandwich and a nice mug of tea. Both my mum and brother have a place locally, so quite often everyone will go down to the beach, make a fire and sit around and chat.

My favourite memory of the area would be spending time with my two children when they were little and pottering about with them, collecting pebbles. I like collecting pebbles – I love the shapes. We’ve just launched a new tableware collection for Portmeirion called ‘Pebble’, and the ceramics have a rippled design.

It’s very liberating being by the sea. When it’s rough, the power of it can be invigorating. Then, when it’s calm, it can be thought-provoking and serene. I think it’s very nourishing.

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