Author Archives: Leigh Hatts

If you walk east along the Bournemouth Coast Path and keep going you get to Brittany. This is because the BCP is part of the E9 which links at Dover with France leading down to Spain and Portugal. Or you … Continue reading →

Walkers should note that the annual November closure of the Sandbanks ferry service has lasted much longer than is usual. The ferry is not operating A resumption of the service cannot now be expected until shortly before Christmas.

Lucinda Lambton has been on Bournemouth’s East Cliff to visit the Russell-Côtes Art Gallery & Museum. Her account appears in the January’s issue of The Oldie which is arriving in shops now. In the magazine she describes the building, once home … Continue reading →

Black Friday starts earlier and lasts longer in the UK than USA! But the good news is that Exploring the Bournemouth Coast Path guide can be obtained  for just £5.99 – a saving of £2. The publisher’s offer on the … Continue reading →

On Armistice Day a century ago today Highcliffe had lost 36 men in the Great War. In 1918 Highcliffe Castle was home to Gordon Selfridge of Oxford Street store fame. The locals had seen the recreation ground occupied by the … Continue reading →

Work on the Highciffe Castle zig zag path is due too start next Monday. The path, a vital link on the coast path, is has been closed for some time. The work should be completed in time for an opening … Continue reading →

“It’s been along wait,” said the bookseller as he laid the Hampshire: South volume of Buildings of England on the counter. It has. The last edition was fifty years ago. Since the new book, a Pevsner Architectural Guide,  retains the … Continue reading →

The September issue of Dorset Life has a feature on the Shelley Theatre at Shelley Park. Shelley Park at Boscombe is the clifftop house bought by Percy B Shelley’s son for his  famous mother Mary. She died just before she … Continue reading →

The closure of the ramp at the end of the cliff top path above Avon Beach means that walkers should stay on the promenade between Mudeford and Steamer Point. The Daily Echo has the full story.

During the past year there has been uncertainty about the coast path east of Barton-on-Sea. In May last year it was closed due to a cliff fall. This summer it is now open again. The first section from Barton-on-Sea cliff … Continue reading →