D97: BOURNEMOUTH to WAREHAM
Wednesday 17th May 2023
Today miles: 24.9 Total miles: 1625.5
After a good sleep I slipped away from my Hotel and was back on the coast before 6.30am. I could have hung around for the pre-paid cooked breakfast but that would have meant not walking until much later and I’ve got additional miles to make up from yesterday.
On arrival at West Cliffs I descended down onto the lower promenade which takes me along to Canford Cliffs and Poole Head. I watched, briefly puzzled as two John Deere tractors ploughed pretty lines into the sand along the beach. Not sure what that is all about, possibly a process to combat any erosion. There’s lots of public toilets and water points along this stretch of the coast and I took the opportunity to fill up my two 500ml bottles with water. I know it’s going to be a long, hot day and I’ll need plenty of liquid. There’s a nice solid path along the edge of Poole Harbour which I used initially to get me to Sandbanks. It’s then just a matter of walking around the solitary road which loops around Sandbanks. The beach would have been nicer but there’s no suggestion of a public footpath and I didn’t fancy any additional wasted miles today. It’s roughly two miles back to Poole Head where I was able to grab some snacks and fizzy pop from the Tesco Express shop.
There’s a Poole Harbour Trail, which strangely enough goes around Poole Harbour, I’ll roughly be following this trail for twenty five miles for the walk towards Poole and then later Swanage. I passed by Lilliput without seeing any little people and I arrived at Poole Old Town ready for a much needed break. There’s several major yacht/boat builders around this section and I spotted literally hundreds of brand new multi-million pound vessels lining the docks, their chrome trims were sparkling in the sunlight.
The next four miles was a combination of walking through housing estates and much prettier parks and reserves. At Upton I followed a footpath which should have taken me straight across the busy A35 towards Lytchett Minster. Having trekked the half mile down Watery Lane I encountered a huge fence which had been erected across the now much overgrown route, blocking my path. In my much improved mood this wasn’t too much of an issue and I arrived in Lytchett ready for some lunch. I hung around Lytchett for a few hours, drank two pints of Guinness and ate a plate of chips smothered in ketchup.
I was feeling completely refreshed when I finally left the Bakers Arms for the next section, walking the horrid four miles down the busy and noisy A351 towards Wareham. Thankfully half way down the road I bumped into a chatty local lady who helped ease the pain. At Wareham I briefly studied the map trying to figure out where I would pitch the tent tonight. At the Southern end of Wareham I left the Poole Harbour trail and instead walked along the Purbeck Way on the edge of the River Frome, towards a hamlet named Ridge. As the sun began to descend I took to walking along a minor road through Purbeck Heath Nature Reserve. This eventually climbs onto a gorse covered hill where I managed to pitch amongst the thorny bushes, while being irritated by the thousands of midges and concerned by the various animal noises going on in the background.
I’ve now made up the vast majority of missed miles from day one and my feet/legs still feel okay. I’d have liked to have sat and watched the sunset from my campsite as there’s a pretty view across the water but the ever present midges meant I’d be zipped up in my tent instead.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 