Date: Location: Walk Leader: Participants: Distance: Parking: Lunch: | 17th March 2015 Along the sea from Boscombe to Alum Chine Rob Rob, Peter, Ray 6.25 miles (excluding to and from bus stop in Westbourne) Not required. Rob parked at Peter's place The Village Bistro, Westbourne ★★▲ |
It was a rather less sunny day than expected but dry and good for walking.
There were quite a few groups of people enjoying the beach in spite of it being a grey day. One group managed to fill two of the little land trains. Another had groups of children building makeshift "tents" on the sand. It looked as if some local workers were drilling for oil but this turned out to be a misconception. Rob managed to control his curiosity for at least two minutes before being forced to ask for an explanation that turned out to be quite fascinating. Apparently the clay under the sand swells up and lifts the groins so they are taking core samples from around 15 feet to check the underlying soil structure at various points along the beach. A project to protect the shore from erosion is expected to cost £43.7 million spread over 17 years so we will have many more opportunities to see them at work!
We stopped to have a look first at Boscombe Pier where we played a few musical instruments and then at Bournemouth Pier where we admired the relatively new zip wire that runs from the end of the pier to the beach.
On reaching Alum Chine we turned in land and headed for the cafe at Argyll Gardens. It was so busy that we decided not to stay and went instead to the Village Bistro in Westbourne where we had a meal that was really good value for money and the service was very good too.