
Yes the painting is finished so where are we going today and will you find any mermaid’s tails?
















Yes the painting is finished so where are we going today and will you find any mermaid’s tails?
















When you let your partner pick your holiday hotel.

When your wish for a pony comes true at last.

Which is your garden – rewilding or OCD?


When you wonder if it was a good idea to have coffee at the garden centre.

Artist denies paintings were actually done by his toddler.

Scientist close to bringing back extinct species…

We all love Southbourne, but today we’re going to jump on the bus and head for Bournemouth town centre.


What’s happening in the lower gardens?

We’re visiting Bournemouth Writing Festival which is a great festival with loads of things happening all weekend, but we only have time to pop into the poetry hub on the bandstand where you can write a contribution for the community poem or buy a poem from a machine kindly lent by the National Trust.




https://www.bournemouthwritingfestival.co.uk/
Time to go for a wander.

Of course we are bound to come across more mermaid tails.


https://www.juliashouse.org/tail-trail

Now up to Bournemouth Square wot’s round.





Waterstone’s cafe, one of the venues for the festival and a good coffee stop any time.

Suitably refreshed take a walk in the central gardens.

And some surprises






Real Live Artist spotted, find out who along the trail.








The artist is Tech Moon















Have you followed any art trails? Have you ever become obsessed with visiting every point on an art trail?

Two sisters recently reinstated a charity walk we did regularly in the previous decade; no T-shirts or requests for money, we just paid to take part. The original walks started at the Hengistbury Head end of the promenade in Bournemouth and we walked to Sandbanks in Poole at the other end of the promenade. As it was for fun as well as charity, walkers could join and leave at any point. Along the way we stopped for morning coffee on Bournemouth Pier, lunch at Sandbanks and afternoon tea on the way back. Poole Bay claims seven miles of beaches, so in those pre Fitbit and smartphone days we probably walked about fourteen miles. We took all day, but talking you don’t notice the miles.

This time it was decided to start at Bournemouth Pier as everyone was older and it was the easiest point for everyone to get to on the bus from all over the area. It was such a nice day I walked from home in Southbourne, not quite the beginning of the prom. The cliff top was lovely with gorse in full bloom. Friends who couldn’t come donated money. How did we get on?


A busy sunny Saturday, everyone was out.

But DANGER lurked



The cliff is always falling down.


Coffee Break


Have we reached the end?

Yes, the very end of the promenade, but the Jazz cafe is too busy so we make a detour onwards to the promise of lunch…


…around Poole Harbour….


Well not all the way round…

Cafe in sight, but turns out it’s being renovated…

However, this is Sandbanks and a kiosk is selling designer sourdough sandwiches


Lunch with a view and some walkers get a lift home..

Four of us make it back to Bournemouth and disperse to our buses after a cup of tea. I round off my pix with a walk to the end of the pier, but don’t linger as a strong easterly wind has sprung up. With my high tech devices and a note book, my phone tells me 12.7 kms were covered on the main walk and my Fitbit notched up eight and a half miles. I walked 18 kms since leaving home, or nearly ten miles since getting out of bed. Not quite the marathons of celebrities, but we raised enough money to share between two local charities. Thanks to Brenda and Sheila for organising the walk.

Looking towards home
Have you been on any interesting, dangerous or even totally insane charity walks, runs or climbs?

Take a 5.4KM walk on a sunny day.













Coming soon – a charity walk from Bournemouth to Sandbanks…
Morning and afternoon, noon to four…















Few words, just flowers








How will you travel?




What will you see?













https://www.benoakleygallery.com/from-the-city-to-the-sea-7th-march-2025/

Which way will you choose to go?










