Sunday Stroll – Hengistbury Head

~ tidalscribe.com

Follow the path to the first point of historic interest.

He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with a powered aircraft, when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying display in Bournemouth. He was aged 32.

Nearby is the popular Hiker Café, popular with the many dog walkers, but as we discovered when we went with my friend’s dog on a very windy rainy day, dogs are not allowed inside the café. Plenty of seating outside and very pleasant inside. Considering how many places let dogs in you might be surprised, but with the strong possibility of dogs getting wet and muddy you can see their point! A short walk takes you to the visitor centre where you can see the history of the headland back to the busy days of the iron age.

‘Long before the arrival of the Romans, Hengistbury Head was a thriving trading port. Some have commented that Hengistbury Head was probably the first urban settlement in England. It was without doubt one of the the most important sea ports in the the whole of England.’

Reassuring to know nature can take back urban areas.

It’s time to make our way up.

Did you guess anything about this monolith in Friday’s blog? It was hard to find anything about it; alas it is neither ancient nor extra terrestrial, but still interesting. Created by sculptor Briony Marshall in 2016.

‘Layers of Bournemouth is a rammed earth sculpture that invites passers-by to slow down and contemplate the beauty and age of our precious natural world.‘

https://briony.com/project/layers-of-bournemouth/

Time to walk up to the top and enjoy the views of Christchurch Harbour..

Then return another way for sea views as the short winter day draws in.

You would have had time to walk further if you hadn’t stopped for coffee and cake at the café! Come back another day to explore more.

PS At one stage Henry George Selfridge bought Hengistbury Head with plans to build a magnificent castle. Fortunately the plans never got off the ground.

Have you been here, or do you have a favourite hill or iron age fort to walk round?

30 thoughts on “Sunday Stroll – Hengistbury Head”

  2. I spent a fair amount of time in the scouts undertaking activities too dull to remember on the Head when I was a kid. There was also some butterfly my father was determined to find that lived there – we never did.

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    1. Hello Geoff, I can just imagine your father hunting for a tiny butterfly. My school friend, whose father was a double amputee, took them on trips there in the sixties I just discovered recently. We lived in Farnborough Hampshire at the time and my family never got further than Frencham Ponds. Anyway, he used to drive them to the top, which I was surprised to hear! She recalls not seeing another soul.

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  7. Hengistbury Head is one of my favourite places in the world! I’ve travelled on 6 continents, and I’ve never seen anything to rival the 360-degree panorama from the top.

    I’m intrigued to know why the Hiker Cafe won’t allow dogs inside – it has a tiled floor, and so many dog walkers go to the Head. It’s lovely to sit outside on a nice day, but dog walkers are the exact people who will be out on a wet and windy day when people with more sense will be tucked up in front of the fire!

    I didn’t know Selfrige bought the Head!

    He got his castle, though, down the coast at Highcliffe!

    I watched that monolith being built. A very strange item and no mistake. I think it’s made from all the different layers of local soil. I don’t find it a thing of great beauty, but it is interesting 🙂 If you turn left at the monolith, I like the walk through the lily ponds. And if you have more time, it’s a giggle to get the ferry across to Mudeford. Dogs are allowed in the Haven Inn, whereas children are not!

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    1. Greetings Jacqueline. Yes you would have laughed at three of us plus dog, sitting outside on the edge of whichever named storm Britain was having at the time in the summer, eating cold egg and chips! The friend of my friend had offered to treat us to lunch. She had never been to Hengistbury Head before and was looking forward to bird watching. The only birds we saw were the starlings trying to steal our chips!
      I’m glad you rate HH so highly, that saves me traveling anywhere else. I wanted to buy a house up there, but beyond our price bracket. Twixt Southbourne Grove and HH is a good position as it turns out.
      Brownie points for having seen the monolith being made.

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      1. Yes, prices there have gone bonkers. Our apartment is near SoBo beach cafe, and you can walk to HH from there.

        We often see bird watchers at HH. I frequently see stonechats and skylarks, and have seen people checking out the rare Dartford warbler, although I wouldn’t spot one if it darted into my field of vision – I’m not too great at distinguishing one brown bird from another! Stonechats are easy because they make a noise like two pebbles being clicked together. Hence the name!

        Thanks for my brownie points!

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      2. My children and next door neighbours delight in looking up how much our houses are now worth. I’m nearest to Gordon zig zag so still within walking distance of HH. We had a few camera club members who were always looking out for Dartford Warblers. Glad you can see skylarks. We used to have them in the field next to us at Heathrow.

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    1. Thanks, it’s lucky we managed to move to a place with rivers and sea, but the truth is there are many wonderful places we visited on holiday and days out ( pre 2020! ) only accessible with a car. Still I think I can do plenty more blogs with a bit of help from bus, train, boat and the occasional visitor.

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  10. Your Blog makes me feel like I have visited many places I will never see in person. I was going to choose one of the peaks I trek to but I really do not have a clear favorite, so I pick Somerset, the hill we live on!

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      1. Probably the developer had some positive connection to the more famous Somerset. The neighborhood sprung up quickly on a wooded hill in the early 1960’s and was almost immediately annexed by the city of Bellevue, Washington. I have never seen an explanation for the name.

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    1. You are welcome Pete. We were first introduced to Hengistbury Head when visiting friends when the children were little, the main excitement being the Noddy Train down to the sandspit and the most expensive beach hut in the world. Little did we imagine we would live near there one day.

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