The exclusion zone around the Labour Party Conference on Bournemouth’s West Cliff is now in force. The site embraces the Bournemouth International Centre and the Highcliff Hotel.
Walkers approaching along the clifftop from Durley Chine must turn left inland into West Hill Road. At the crossroads go right along Priory Road which crosses St Michael’s Road (good for hotels) and soon runs downhill to Exeter Road. Ahead is the Royal Exeter Hotel, the town’s oldest building. Go right along Exeter Road to pass between the BIC front entrance and the Punshon Memorial Church to reach the Pier.
The diversion is full of interest. This Sunday’s Labour Party church service at the Punshon is the last service in the church which is closing. The Methodist church, rebuilt on a new site after Second World War bombing, is the national memorial to the leading 19th-century Methodist preacher William Morley Punshon.
The cliffside route on the West Cliff will reopen late on Thursday afternoon.
See pages 30-33.
