Author Archives: Leigh Hatts

Sandbanks Ferry started running today. The vessel has been away in Southampton for a refit since early November. The service will continue daily during Christmas although on 25 December it will only run about every 30 minutes.

New Forest District Council is investing £300,000 central government funding in a ground survey at Barton-on-Sea. This is a response to the many landslides including shallow mudslides around Hoskin’s Gap which is just west of the clifftop shops opposite the … Continue reading →

Poole Council has put a plan for seafront changes out to consultation. Suggestions include more and larger beach huts and some building especially at Flaghead Chine. I am pleased to see Poole CRRE chair expressing some concern about over development. … Continue reading →

The Sandbanks Ferry ceased operating on Monday 5 November for its annual overhaul. This time the vessel is also going to be repainted. The ferry is now in Southampton and may not return until the second week in December.

A 300 year old cottage familiar to those using the Mudeford Ferry has been saved from demolition. Little Haven would have been known to 18th-century smugglers and is part of the attractive group of houses around the Haven Inn on … Continue reading →

A Tesco store is due to replace the Sandacres pub at Sandbanks. This is at the point where the route leaves Poole Harbour to pass through a garden to follow Poole Bay. The residents are not too happy according to … Continue reading →

CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide and the Good Pub Guide are out this month. Both recommend the award-winning Nelson Tavern in Mudeford and the Good Pub Guide adds The Ship in Distress in Stanpit. The two pubs are on the Southbourne-Mudeford winter … Continue reading →

Avon Beach, which lies between Mudeford and Highcliffe, is up for sale. It has been owned by the Derham family since 1934. But they were associated years earlier when George and Annie Derham served teas to passing walkers from their … Continue reading →

The 40th anniversary special issue of Strider, the Long Distance Walkers Association journal, mentions that 2012 is also the 10th anniversary of the E9 British section. The ceremony in 2002 was held at Sandbanks, on the Bournemouth Coast Path, with … Continue reading →

The Majestic Mansion exhibition at Highcliffe Castle runs until Sunday 2 September. The excellent display by the castle’s historian Ian Stevenson is marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee . The exhibition is well worth seeing as it contains new research. First … Continue reading →