The Bournemouth Coast Path is a 20-mile-long footpath through

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from

Sandbanks Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour. It is known for its high property prices and for it ...

Milford-on-Sea Milford on Sea, often hyphenated, is a large village or small town and a civil parish on the Hampshire coast. The parish had a population of 4,660 at the 2011 census and is centred about south of Lymington. Tourism and businesses for quite pr ...

. The path follows the coastline and goes through Bournemouth,

Boscombe Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne. Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 B ...

, Southbourne,

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology ...

Mudeford Mudeford ( ) is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England ( historically in Hampshire), fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach. The R ...

and

Highcliffe Highcliffe-on-Sea (usually simply Highcliffe) is a seaside town in Dorset in England, administered since April 2019 as part of the unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It forms part of the South East Dorset conurbation alo ...

Between Hengistbury Head and Mudeford the path uses a ferry to cross

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch. Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is g ...

. In winter, when the ferry does not usually run, there is a 3-mile detour through

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. The Bournemouth Coast Path performs an important role by connecting the South West Coast Path (by the

Sandbanks Ferry Sandbanks Ferry is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the entrance of Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. The route runs from Sandbanks to Studland and in doing so connects the coastal parts of the towns of Bournemouth and Poo ...

) in the west and the

Solent Way The Solent Way is a long-distance footpath in Hampshire, southern England. With the exception of a few inland diversions, the path follows the coast of the Solent, the sea strait that separates the mainland from the Isle of Wight. The Solen ...

in the east.

References

External links

Exploring the Bournemouth Coast Path
{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Bournemouth Footpaths in Hampshire Long-distance footpaths in England Coastal paths in England Footpaths in Dorset

See also

References

External links