An Idyllic Morning on a Rib

 The weather was beautiful when we met Gemma and Emmie in Christchurch for an ice-cream.  Gemma said "Fancy a trip on the river tomorrow in Alun's rib?"  Yes please!

Alun picked us up at Christchurch Quay and we started off exploring the routes less travelled on the River Stour up to The Old Bridge at Iford.  Once on the water the stresses of life just ebb away.

At The Old Bridge we turned around, passing the Iford Bridge Park Homes.  One Christmas all the residents were evacuated as flood water rose a metre above the banks.

The river winds gently passed Iford recreation ground.  After just under a mile the river widens before the newly refurbished railway bridge, which carries the Weymouth to Waterloo line.  This area was used by the army for the development of the Bailey Bridge from 1941 onwards.

The river then takes a large meander past Tuckton and the site of Tuckton House.  This house had many uses and was used by Count Tchertkov, in the 1890's, to print radical works by Tolstoy, when he was banned in Russia.  It has also been the home of a pacifist vegetarian community, a noted KGB spy, Melita Norwood, and the production line for Bournemouth's first motor car.

Passing The Riverside Pub ( must stop for lunch one day) we then went under Tuckton Bridge.  The bridge was built in 1905 having been commissioned to replace a timber toll-bridge.  Many features imitate in reinforced concrete the original timber design.  This marks the point where the river becomes significantly busier.

As we passed the Quomps and the Quay we had a beautiful view of Christchurch Priory.  Founded on the site of a church in 800AD its site changed from a hilltop to its present location when all the building materials inexplicably moved overnight.  The story of the Miraculous Beam also explains how Christchurch got its present name!

Passing Christchurch Sailing Club, we now crossed the entrance of the River Avon.  We meandered up a little way admiring all the boats.

We then doubled back and followed the Stour to the right as the river widens again, passing Stanpit Marsh to the north.

Christchurch harbour is home to a large variety of birdlife and is a nature reserve, with some areas marked by buoys to prevent disturbance.  The large areas of mudflats at low tide provide good feeding for the birds and a trap for the unwary boater.

Mudeford Quay sits opposite the very expensive beach huts at Hengistbury Head.  Hengistbury was the site of Britain's first airshow in 1910, where Charles Rolls, of Rolls-Royce fame was killed when his aircraft disintegrated.

We had to stop for a couple of cheeky beers and prosecco at The Beach House.  A bit pricey but it's worth it for a Brew with a View.

The harbour entrance to Mudeford is narrow and the waters can get very choppy.  Known locally as "the run" the strong tidal flows can stop even powered boats and tide tables must be consulted.  In easterly winds waves break over the sandbar, enhanced if there is an ebb tide.  We decided at this point we didn't have time to try our luck so we retraced our route back to Christchurch quay.

It took approximately 40 minutes to cruise up the river from Hengistbury Head to Christchurch and the views were spectacular.

Thank you for a very special day.

Fun Day

 We had a really lovely day during half term at Paulton's Park with the family.  The traffic getting into the park for the 10 a.m. opening was crazy busy but once on site, we were parked very quickly and not far from the entrance.

When Peppa Pig World opened at Paultons Park in 2011, it instantly put this family-run theme park on the map.  Our grandchildren loved the pastel-coloured world of Peppa and friends, complete with gentle rides, tinkling music and grassy hummocks.  But now the grandchildren are older so our first port of call was the dinosaur-themed world, The Lost Kingdom.  Paultons Park doesn't just cater for smaller children, it also kept our thrill-seeking older kids happy with a handful of very good adrenalin-filled rides.

One good thing about the park is that you pay the entry fee and then almost every attraction is included except the Go-Kart.  (Needless to say Mike and Jamie had to have a go).

Once inside and having dropped off our picnic in a convenient locker we made our way to the Velociraptor, a boomerang type of rollercoaster that has you going backwards too!    Although the grandchildren were a bit hesitant at first, they ended up loving it and going back for more again and again.  They started the day with a bang, joining the queue and in less than 30 mins., were sat, buckled and ready to go! 

Still reeling from the coaster rush, we made our way to the next ride the Flight of the Pterosaur.

The Lost Kingdom is so much more than those two rollercoasters though, and we spent the whole morning exploring the area, smiles plastered on faces from the adrenaline and pure cool-factor of having life-like dinosaurs all around us.  It offers some fun roller coasters and a great themed area with well thought out details.  I was particularly impressed by the animatronic dinosaurs and Lost Kingdom design features, they are not cheap and nasty, they give a real feel of a quality effort and finish.  The largest animatronic dinosaur is the Argentinosaurus, which is 12m tall and 23m long.  The Jurassic-themed landscaping in the Lost Kingdom is impressive and the Flight of the Pterosaur suspended rollercoaster is just the right side of terrifying.

After a picnic lunch it was "Come on Storm Chasers!  We are off to Tornado Springs".  A top highlight has to be the Storm Chaser ride, the only free-spinning rollercoaster of its type in the UK where trains of carriages reach heights of over 20 metres above ground whilst swirling guests around.

The land isn't just about the large rides and adrenaline-inducing experiences - there's plenty of fun to be had for families who aren't quite ready to take on the bigger rides and attractions.

Al's Auto Academy was a great hit with the children riding in an electric car - styled to look like a classic 50s American car, of course.  And there is a car that looked as though it had just been pulled out of the movie Grease and now put on display in Tornado Springs.

Jamie also loved the Junkyard Junction playground whilst the others did the extreme rides.

Another one for those who love a rush of adrenaline is the Cyclonator, a gyro swing spinning pendulum ride which rises to around 25 metres above the ground.  The rides are out of this world and that Cyclonator is Soooooo scary.

There was a slightly calmer but still thrilling drop ride for Jamie on Windmill Towers whilst we queued for ice creams at 4 p.m.

To calm down I loved riding on the traditional galloping horses on the Victorian Carousel.

The last ride en famillie was The Cobra.  A wild rollercoaster with a crazy mix of thrilling drops, exhilarating spirals, amazing turns and breath-taking 'camel humps'.  This 'fangtastic' coaster was a great hit with all the family.

And just enough time, on our way out, for Chloe and Emmie to get wet on the Raging River Log Flume Ride.  A thrilling log flume that gives two mighty drops, the highest at 11 metres.  They hit the water at over 35mph with a huge splash!

Queues for rides were good.  I don't think we queued more than 30 mins for a ride but the queue out of the car park at 6 p.m. was a bit ridiculous.  We didn't move for 20 mins.

When you take three fun parks, a zoo, and a botanic garden, and put them all in one place you get Paultons Park.  Put simply, we all had fun, from the young to the old.  We loved the sense of space and the beautifully kept grounds and laid-back feel.  Looking forward to our next trip.