104 Travel | Dorset
© Shaun Jacobs / Shutterstock ; © Dick Kenny / Shutterstock
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Colours takes a trip with local writer and photographer David Burden through his home county , from sleepy Christchurch and its magnificent 1,000-year-old Priory Church in the east , through fossil country to the colourful port of Weymouth in the heart of rural Dorset .
“ Christchurch , where time is pleasant ,” reads the town ’ s welcome sign , and it ’ s easy to see why – particularly when taking a cruise up the picturesque River Stour aboard one of the old wooden ferries that have been plying these tranquil waterways for decades .
Watch seagulls and other migratory birds wheel and dive over swaying reeds as you putt leisurely upriver from Wick , through Christchurch Harbour to Hengistbury Head spit , a thin finger of sand lined with chic beach shacks that give stunning views both across the harbour on one side and over towards the Isle of Wight on the other .
From here , seven miles of award-winning sandy beaches stretch west to the trendy student town of Bournemouth . Once a fashionable escape for wealthy Londoners at the turn of the century , it now attracts tourists from all over the UK and beyond who come to soak up the coastal atmosphere of what ’ s known as the ‘ English Riviera ’. The vibrant town centre boasts fashionable boutiques , cool cafés and plenty of superb places to eat , meaning it ’ s a great base from which to explore the local area .
Travelling further along the beach you ’ ll eventually hit Sandbanks – another thin peninsula like Hengistbury – which marks the southern edge of Poole Harbour . The dwellings are a touch grander here though , and it ’ s commonly known as ‘ Millionaire ’ s Row ’, due to the fact that you ’ ll find some of the most expensive real estate in the country here . The second largest natural harbour in the world ( after Sydney , Australia ), it ’ s where the enormous cross-Channel liners depart for France . But , for the next hop along the coast , nothing quite so
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1 Walking east towards Durdle Dor and Lulworth .
2 Springtime is lambing season in Dorset .