Author Archives: Leigh Hatts

Barry Gardiner MP, Minister for Biodiversity, Landscapes and Rural Affairs, discussed the Solent coastline when he visited the New Forest to mark its designation as a national park. The recently redrawn New Forest boundary runs almost to the Bournemouth Coast … Continue reading →

A stretch of the Bournemouth Coast Path has been closed for the Conservative Party Conference. The sloping clifftop path running from the Highcliff Hotel down to Bournemouth Pier will not reopen until late on Wednesday 4 October. Walkers from the … Continue reading →

INSERT_MAP An exhibition at Mompesson House in Salisbury gives a glimpse of the Mudeford coast during Queen Victoria’s reign. ‘A Century in a Suitcase’ is an exhibition of paintings, sketchbooks and painted ceramics by Barbara Townsend (1842-1939), who lived at … Continue reading →

Near the start of the Bournemouth Coast Path is Poole Head which is the beginning of the seven mile long Poole Bay cliff. The first house is Chaddesley Gate which was the home of Oswald Bailey, founder of the outdoor … Continue reading →

Three beach huts on Mudeford’s Sandspit have gone on sale with a £80,000 price guide. The huts are just inside the Christchurch borough boundary where the council’s annual site licience is £1,784. Overnight sleeping is only allowed between 1 March … Continue reading →

Fisherman’s Bank, part of the winter route for the Southbourne-Mudeford section of the coast path, has been designated as open access land under the new Countryside and Rights of Way Act. This means that walkers on Stanpit waterside are not … Continue reading →

Swanage Museum has moved into a seafront building after having to vacate the 17th-century Tithe Barn which was in a poor state of repair. The opening ceremony was performed by Dorset archaeologist Julian Richards who presents the BBC series Meet … Continue reading →

The New Forest National Park Authority takes up its full duties on 1 April 2006. Lindsay Cornish, the Chief Executive, said: “From 1 April the National Park Authority becomes the local planning authority within the Park boundary. We will give … Continue reading →

Environment Minister Elliot Morley chose Studland Bay as the most appropriate place to launch the government’s new guidance on shoreline management plans. The Dorset Coast Path runs along the beach where the National Trust has already begun to abandon sea … Continue reading →

Several clifftop gardens are opening this summer as part of the National Gardens Scheme. One belongs to a house in Cassel Avenue where the garden is half an acre on the side of Branksome Dene Chine. Nearby, across the Alum … Continue reading →