noon before
Captain Wentworth talked of going there again himself , it was only seventeen miles from Uppercross ; though November , the weather was by no means bad ; and , in short , Louisa , who was the most eager of the eager , having formed the resolution to go , and besides the pleasure of doing as she liked , being now armed with the idea of merit in maintaining her own way , bore down all the wishes of her father and mother for putting it off till summer ; and to Lyme they were to go -- Charles , Mary , Anne , Henrietta , Louisa , and Captain Wentworth . The first heedless scheme had been to go in the morning and return at night ; but to this Mr Musgrove , for the sake of his horses , would not consent ; and when it came to be rationally considered , a day in the middle of November would not leave much time for seeing a new place , after deducting seven hours , as the nature of the country required , for going and returning . They were , consequently , to stay the night there , and not to be expected back till the next day 's dinner . This was felt to be a considerable amendment ; and though they all met at the Great House at rather an early breakfast hour , and set off very punctually , it was so much past noon before the two carriages , Mr Musgrove 's coach containing the four ladies , and Charles 's curricle , in which he drove Captain Wentworth , were descending the long hill into Lyme , and entering upon the still steeper street of the town itself , that it was very evident they would not have more than time for looking about them , before the light and warmth of the day were gone . After securing accommodations , and ordering a dinner at one of the inns , the next thing to be done was unquestionably to walk directly down to the sea . They were come too late in the year for any amusement or variety which Lyme , as a public place , might offer . The rooms were shut up , the lodgers almost all gone , scarcely any family but of the residents left ; and , as there is nothing to admire in the buildings themselves , the remarkable situation of the town , the principal street almost hurrying into the water , the walk to the Cobb , skirting round the pleasant little bay , which , in the season , is animated with bathing machines and company ; the Cobb itself , its old wonders and new improvements , with the very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town , are what the stranger 's eye will seek ; and a very strange stranger it must be , who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme , to make him wish to know it better .