The Plan
A
Boscombe shore walk
Who Turned Up
Sue,
Tisha, Trudy B, Wendy, Jackie, Ros, Beatrie and Tony H, David
The Walk
It was
one of those sunny but chilly days when a decent walk is guaranteed to put the
spring back into your step and a glow in your cheeks. We planned to park in Knyveton Road – and most of us did – but the road was much busier than usual
and some people had to park farther back. The farther back they went, the
closer they got to Langtry Manor in Derby Road. It was built in 1877 by Edward
the Seventh for his mistress, Lillie Langtry. Now it’s a hotel. Once we had all
gathered at the bottom of Knyveton Road, we set off down through Boscombe
Gardens to the shore. This when we became aware of how huge is the sewage
system repair work being carried out here. A diversion pipe line runs for 2.4
miles through the gardens and along the cliff top. It had to be done in winter
while the holiday area is relatively quiet. The walk along the shore was
pleasant with less wind than expected.
After
lunch we took an equally pleasant walk back along the cliff top, albeit we were
following the trail of the temporary sewage pipeline. We walked out along
Boscombe Pier and gave some attention to the musical walkway with bells and
bowls put out for visitor’s use. This pier goes back to 1889 when it was opened
by the Duke of Argyll, who had connections with the builder. It cost £3,813 to
build the pier and it had a landing stage on each side where steamers could tie
up. A pier head was added in 1926 but was partially demolished during WW2 to
prevent German invasion barges landing here. The Mermaid Theatre was built at
the end of the rebuilt pier, but it closed in 1989.
A
pleasant walk and we thank Trudy for her photographs.
The Pub
The
Spyglass and Kettle. The food was good and plentiful, and two crosswords came
close to completion. What more could we ask?
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