Ideas & Inspiration

You’ll be spoilt for choice about how to best spend your days here. With four miles of dramatic coastline and sweeping views of the Isle of Wight, not to mention six award-winning sandy beaches each with their own character and good facilities, you won’t know where to begin.

It might be just the right sort of day for taking a bucket and spade to the beach and having a paddle in the sea as the waters of the Solent glisten in the sun. Perhaps you’re keen on kite-flying or going for a refreshing swim? Whatever the weather there will always be something to keep the young ones entertained and the older ones enthralled.

This picturesque coastal town offers a wide range of events year-round. With such a surprisingly busy calendar there is always something going on. Whether you’re visiting for the day or having yourself a well-earned holiday, you’ll find your time in Christchurch is so much more than another day by the seaside.

Landlubbers have plenty of opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors with a variety of all-ability walks just on the doorstep. Take a stroll along the Christchurch Coast Path – a 2 ½ mile route from Highcliffe to Mudeford Quay providing panoramic views. If you fancy fully stretching your legs the 64 mile Stour Valley Way and the 34 Avon Valley Path each offer an enjoyable challenge. You can always get off the beaten track with various routes through the scenic New Forest National Park.

Our riverside walks offer wonderful opportunities to get our the binoculars and spot a rare bird or shy reptiles. We also have a number of nature reserves within a short distance. Stanpit Marsh provides a home for hundreds of plant species, 14 of which are rare and endangered, which in turn support a number of butterflies, dragonflies and birds. Purewell Meadows Nature Reserve is a haven of wet meadows, and grazing at the site over a number of years has helped increase wildflower biodiversity. St Catherine’s Hill is an important site of sensitive heathland managed by BCP Council, RSPB, Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust.

Christchurch boasts not one but two castles. Built in the late 11^th century inside a Saxon fort, the ruins of Christchurch Castle can be found atop a mound in the centre of town, overlooking the grounds of the Priory on one side and the High Street on the other. Highcliffe Castle, a Grade I listed mansion built in the 1830s, was once home to Harry Gordon Selfridge and is a short tree-lined walk to a clifftop overlooking the beach.

The medieval monastic Priory Church is reputedly the longest parish church in England. Guide tours include climbing the spiral steps to the top of the tower which allows amazing views of the town and the harbour.