Link from Christchurch to Hengistbury Head

It was Richard's 66th birthday and we were staying at the Highcliffe Premier Inn to the east of Christchurch in Dorset. We were unexpectedly free for most of the day, but it was raining and the weather forecast indicated that the wet weather would continue all day and beyond. So a short walk, followed by shopping for food to take to Helen and Tom's this evening, then an afternoon back at the Premier Inn seemed the order of the day. We had liked what we saw of Christchurch Harbour yesterday so decided to return, but today to explore the other side of the River Stour. We parked at the Willow Way Car Park (SZ155928), which is a good place to be aware of. It is not too far from Christchurch Priory, not too expensive, and, unlike some car parks round here, it is available for more than 4 hours parking , so it will probably be useful when we walk the final leg of the Avon Valley Path, which ends at the Priory.

We walked along the road away from the Priory, turned left, and crossed the River Stour at Tuckton Bridge. There were good views both upstream and downstream from the bridge, with paddleboarders heading in one direction and scullers in the other. On the far side of the bridge, we took the path along the river towards the coast; this is the Stour Valley Way. Even though it was raining, it was all very attractive, with lots of yachts and views across the river to Christchurch Priory. We were walking across parkland on the edge of Wick which is described as a village, and clearly "des. res.", but it is contiguous with the rest of the Bournemouth conurbation. We spent some time trying (and failing) to work out how they get the posh yachts from the hard-standing on the other side of the river into the water; they appeared to be too close together to get a crane in to lift them.

We passed the landing stage for the Wick Ferry (only operational in summer) and crossed a footbridge sporting signs for both the Stour Valley Way and the E9. The walking was enjoyable, even if I do look rather wet! We left the houses behind, and were now in a wilder landscape. with reeds between us and the water. We couldn't see it from the path, but beyond the reeds, the River Avon had now joined the River Stour and opened out into Christchurch Harbour. The only problem was that the path was rather slippery; despite the fact that it had turned milder yesterday and been raining all morning, there was still quite a lot of ice about. We were careful and stayed upright, but other walkers and joggers were sliding all over the place.

We were now in the Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve and we continued to the Visitor Centre. There is a car park nearby, so we decided to retrace our steps for now, then to return to Hengistbury Head to explore properly at some stage in the future. We were about half a mile from the route of the E9 European Coastal Path/Bournemouth Coast Path, so when we return we'll be able to complete the link from the Avon Valley Path to the coast path. Another possibility would be to walk the Stour Valley Way in its entirety; it goes through some attractive parts of Dorset, between the mouth of the Stour at Christchurch Harbour and its source at Stourhead, which we visited for the first time in April with Helen and Bertie.