Hengistbury Head
Walked 19th September 2025
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We started this 11.5km walk from Dolphin Motorhomes in Christchurch whilst our van was having work done. However, there is a car park at the Tuckton Playing Fields which offers an alternative start point.
The walk follows the lower River Stour to the sea at Mudeford, through the nature reserve onto Hengistbury Head and down to the beach and most expensive beach huts.
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Follow the footpath over the river using the old bridge.
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Follow the signs for the Stour Valley Way.
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The Stour Valley Way seems to follow the road for some way but it is possible to dip away from the road and follow the river more closely by following the arrows for the Stour Cycle track. This is much more scenic and takes you under the railway without busy traffic. There are also many views of Christchurch and its Priory.
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Follow the route through the small Tuckton shopping centre then dip off to the left again to follow the river.
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Almost hidden in the bushes is a landing for the tiny passenger ferry to cross the river to Christchurch.
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Keep following the path along the river into the Wick nature reserve.
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A bit of 1960s archaeology along the way.
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The visitor centre is a wealth of information about the history of the Head. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in the building. There was a nice outdoor, dog friendly, outdoor waffle and coffee café in the courtyard when we walked.
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From the visitor centre, we turned right and used the toilets etc at the car park then followed the path up onto the top of Hengistbury Head via the beach.
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At the top is a fascinating explanation of how iron stone was mined from the the base of the headland causing huge erosion to the headland.
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There is an old Coastguard lookout at the top with some interesting graphite.
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After taking in the amazing view, decend to the most expensive beach huts ever and the sand spit.
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A little dog bath.
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Following a fire a few years ago, the Beach House café has reopened in a new form. From here you can also take a ferry to Mudeford Quay.
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From here we walked back along the lower road, past the visitor centre and the car park to catch a bus (no 33) back to the start.
Alternatives are to start from the car park at Hengistbury or Tuckton. Google was very helpful with public transport but failed to predict that the bus was running 15 minutes late.
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