Any Bournemouth people?

[i4got]

Walking a coastal path next week from Wareham down to Swanage and through to Lymington. Was hoping to stick to the shore where possible but looks like the Mudeford ferry is not running. I assume this means no crossing at that point is possible and I'll need to turn inland and go through Christchurch?

Thanks.

[joropug]

i4got said:

Walking a coastal path next week from Wareham down to Swanage and through to Lymington. Was hoping to stick to the shore where possible but looks like the Mudeford ferry is not running. I assume this means no crossing at that point is possible and I'll need to turn inland and go through Christchurch?

Thanks.

Yes if the ferry is not running it's a totally different route you'll need, however Hengistbury Head is a really nice place for a walk and I'd recommend doing it anyway. I'd follow the coast from Bournemouth then head uphill (will be obvious), follow the cliff and then aim for the beach huts. You can then walk back along the land train road, there are some nice walking routes then to Wick, eventually you'll cross the river on Tuckton Bridge.

How many days are you walking for? That is a long old walk!

[i4got]

joropug said:

Yes if the ferry is not running it's a totally different route you'll need, however Hengistbury Head is a really nice place for a walk and I'd recommend doing it anyway. I'd follow the coast from Bournemouth then head uphill (will be obvious), follow the cliff and then aim for the beach huts. You can then walk back along the land train road, there are some nice walking routes then to Wick, eventually you'll cross the river on Tuckton Bridge.

How many days are you walking for? That is a long old walk!

Thanks for that - good tip - I'll add in the bit to Hengistbury Head.

It's a 4 day walk so nothing too excessive per day. Train to Wareham. Walk to Swanage via Corfe Castle. Stay in Swanage. Walk to central Bournemouth on day 2 and overnight there. Then onto Highcliffe area on day 3. Then round to Lymington day 4 and train home from there.

Got a walking holiday in Portugal in less than 4 weeks so thought I'd better gets some practice in.

[Bill]

Which way are you going from Wareham to Corfe Castle?

[i4got]

Bill said:

Which way are you going from Wareham to Corfe Castle?

I don't know the area that well but found this on the internet which looks ok.

[Bill]

Cool, it's better than the road. The stretch along the river to Ridge is lovely but it's a bit dull from there to Corfe and can be an utter swamp when you turn left after the Blue Pool towards Norden Plantation. (Better here to keep on the B road to the top of the ridge and follow that to Corfe.) The ridge from Corfe to Swanage is nice though. Personally I'd follow the Poole Harbour trail from Ridge across Middlebere Heath.

But if you want spectacular and are up for a bit of a challenge then take the bus to Corfe and walk south via Kingston to Chapman's Pool and the coast path. (Take the unclassified road from Kingston to Chapman's Pool rather than the footpath to Houns Tout as the coast path between there and Chapman's Pool has fallen into the sea.) And depending on how fit you're feeling you might want to cut the corner and head through Worth Matravers down to the coast path at Winspit as the leg round St Aldhelms Head while beautiful has a bugger of a dip in it. As in 250+ steps down and then 250+ back up! You'd also get to stop for lunch in the Square and Compass in Worth.

[Bill]

I even did a route! https://explore.osmaps.com/route/21039267/Corfe-to...

[i4got]

That does look tempting although it seems to bypass the bit you mentioned that seemed most interesting to me - the pub in Worth.

I'll make a call on the day - it definitely looks a more challenging option.

[Bill]

Looks like the pub version knocks a couple of K and 100m of elevation off...

Definitely not one for bad weather though!

[Bill]

How did this go??

[i4got]

Bill said:

How did this go??

It went really well.

Due to time constraints I got the bus from Wareham to Corfe Castle after a quick beer in the Horse & Groom. Then I climbed up to the ridge and headed south taking in the views in sunshine. Unfortunately the heavens opened. Got absolutely saturated. Then I had a surprising amount of trouble finding the way off the ridge and into Swanage.

The walk around the headland the next day was great and quiet. Surprised to see such an amount of woodland around Harrys Rocks. Then a long sandy walk along the beach to the ferry.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Bournemouth to Southbourne section. Because of the cliffs you get sheltered from the worst excesses of the town and due to the time of the year it was pretty quiet.

The big downside was the absence of the Mudeford ferry. It would have been a perfect walk except for having to backtrack. The bits of Christchurch I walked through were pretty pleasant though - down by the Norman Priory.

Stayed in Highcliffe overnight then got back to the coast at Barton on Sea. The coastal path from there to Milford is a real highlight.

Finished up with a few miles along sea walls and what looked like levels into a sunny Lymington.

I'd recommend the walk pretty highly but I'd wait until Mudeford ferry is back in service.

Next time I'm in the area I'lll think about starting at Swanage (nice little town) and heading west.

Cheers for the advice.

[Bill]

We've got friends and the in-laws in Southbourne and it's easy to take it for granted.