Tuesday 24 May - Bournemouth

The weather forecast was fair today and so we took the bus to Bournemouth via Fordingbridge and Ringwood, new territory for both of us.

"My brain hurts" - Monty Python

In spite of the sun, there was a cold wind but I decided to dress the part using a reasonably clean handkerchief.  

We walked down an exquisitely gardened chine to see the pier, passing a family of four ducklings which were being eyed hungrily by several large gulls.  It was early in the season and very little was open.  I was really disappointed in that the zip line to the beach was not in operation.  We went into the dinning (sic) room and had a coffee.  Bournemouth is a "higher end" seaside resort, definitely not the sort of place pictured by the Pythons in their Hilter, Bimler, Ribbentrop sketch (this was Minehead). 

We watched the RNLI life savers launch their jet boats and race off beyond the end of the pier - possibly one of the intrepid fishermen at the end of the pier had died of excitement from actually seeing a fish.  There was just one surfer in a wet suit in the water, looking in vain for a wave but everybody else was sensibly well away from the water.

There was a Rock Shop on the pier which sold several varieties of Bournemouth rock.  My favorite was always the traditional peppermint.  Rock shop employees are always happy. One employer went out of business when a disgruntled employee made two miles of rock with the words "Bugger off" running through it.  

In order to work up an appetite for Harry Ramsden's World Famous Fish and Chips we decided to walk along to Boscombe Pier which turned out to be closed so they could set up miniature golf.  The English speakers seem to be outnumbered by people speaking European languages, very loudly.

We passed the site of the East Cliff Funicular which was destroyed a week or so ago when the cliff collapsed, also destroying a block of toilets.  It was rumored that an old man was inside when the disaster occurred.  The rescuers quickly found him.

"You alright Dad?"

"I pulled the chain and the roof fell in".

After the world famous fish and chips we were ready to tackle the other seaside staple - the soft runny ice cream in a cone.  A few of the municipal beach huts were occupied and several residents had staked their claims on pieces of roadway beyond the curb.

The sun was now shining brightly although the east wind was still strong and many had set up colored plastic wind breaks to shelter behind.

The West Cliff Funicular had been brought out of its winter slumbers and was running frequently.

The main attraction of Bournemouth is the well manicured gardens and chines and the seven miles of golden sand beach and we decided to return early. A lot of school children used the bus to get from the Downton area into Salisbury.  Although the bus was crowded they were very well behaved indeed.

On the approach to Salisbury from this direction the cathedral is very prominent indeed.