When he gives a talk at Lyme’s Fossil Festival in early June, Iain Dryden will say that the title of his new book encapsulates the effect The Jurassic Coast has on those who visit this dazzling area. It took Iain, an artist/writer, a year to create ’The Wonder Coast’ and the arduous task of capturing the area’s complexity did him the world of good.
In January last year, Iain could hardly recall nor comprehend a paragraph he had just written and his artwork failed to capture what he saw. After suffering brain-seizures and much worse due to a series of severe internal hospital acquired infections, grateful to still be alive, he instinctively felt a challenge would lift him from his muddy little puddle.
Having already written several books, one endorsed by MIND and another which inspired posters placed in London hospital staff-rooms during Covid, the coastline rippling between Poole Harbour and the mouth of the Exe River became his next project. Iain enjoyed sketching the topography and settlements, back home he wrote about this landscape whose time-span reveals much of life as we know it. Twelve months on, this lightly written publication filled with greyscale images is proof that, generally, we can lift our attention above our afflictions.
Fittingly, this is no guide nor geological book. The Wonder Coast’s aim is to relish this enchanted seascape in its entirety. The abundance of world-class natural features have their backstories; history, both recent and very distant illuminate cosy wee nooks along the way. We touch on those dinosaurs lurking in the cliffs and encounter some of the characters who discovered them. Surprising local detail, unexpected tales and remarkable characters enliven these illustrated pages.
Yet this joyful book contains more. A moment here, another there… scattered instances of awe. Gradually, wonder connects us to this unique landscape, we come to admire ourselves as an evolutionary phenomenon intricately entwined in the flora and fauna. Without making a big deal of it, The Wonder Coast shows us that even our simplest acts are important, that our tiniest choices can help to redress the balance between humanity’s activities and the world’s multiple ecosystems.
Invited to join other authors on the weekend International Fossil Festival in Lyme Regis, Iain will talk about The Wonder Coast on Sunday the 9th of June in the Museum. This is when his lively yet thoughtful new work will be available in independent bookshops, local Waterstones and museums along the way.
