Bournemouth Part 2

English friends of mine who travelled a lot said something to me that stuck. “Always enjoy the journey to and from as well as the destination.”  This has stayed with me as a good way to travel and learn more. I don’t read on trains or buses, I look at what is flying by the window and it is amazing what you can glimpse.  An unusual statue in a city, crops of whatever for miles, a castle on a hill. Anyway, jumping off my soap box.

Went down to the ocean again and waited for a hop on, hop off bus that was never going to arrive because after reading the notice it quits running end of September! Too bad, those tours while touristy, really help give us the orientation of the city and show us new places to explore on foot. Oh well, we consoled ourselves by taking a road train all the way in both directions along the beach and into Boscombe. Nice consolation!

It was lovely to go along the ocean and seeing lots of dogs playing freely in the sand. They are allowed to run free in the winter but not the summer. On the other side of the road, mini-cottages line the entire beachfront for vacationers to enjoy. They look to be about 10 square feet, all the same size. Some are owned or rentable, some painted bright colours.

We’re having great food here! Oh, let me quantify that, lunch and/or dinner, Bruce is enjoying the breakfast but I, not so much. Quite often we’ll have starters or split one dinner. There are many choices aside from fish and chips which EVERY place does. One could write a book on Bournemouth alone (and probably every other city in England) by going along to taste and rate all the places that serve that dish! Someone probably has. But what a greasy gut you would have after doing it, ugh!  I’ve also been trying the unusual (to us) flavours of crisps (potato chips) that I remember from my first trip here. E.g. Ham and mustard, roast chicken etc. but have already given up on two lots. They don’t taste as good as I remembered, probably a good thing.

We did find a Marks and Sparks (Spensors) famous Brit department store with great food halls. Enjoyed walking around and looking at all the different products. 

This area is supposed to be the warmest part of England and did not experience any of the bad storm that came through Great Britain and much of Europe. Note from our partners they didn’t get it in Freiburg either. Lucky us, or we just choose the right places to be? By chance I think. The stormy picture I took of the clock tower didn’t materialize as a storm here, must have moved on, but sure was dramatic seeing it!

Went to a local pub we’ve been to before, the one with the altercation and the fellow that asked if I was alright. He recognized us and had brought his partner. Well we got an educated ear full of the problems of English life and politics from her. Interesting, she has a house with two empty bedrooms and she is charged 120 GBP per month because they are empty! But she cannot rent them out because it would cost her more for tax on the revenue. In her words,”the country is going to the dogs”.

Next day we bused to Poole, a neighbour town to Bournemouth. Lousy luck in catching connections, buses leaving just as we are almost to the stop but warm enough out to not make it a big deal.

Seaside at Poole shops

Poole is seaside but unlike Bournemouth or Brighton it has an enormous pier for boats to tie up at. And, let me tell you there were some very large yachts tied up! Reminded me of the Boat Show in Vancouver. The town is much larger than either one of us thought it would be. The High street is a pedestrian road, however, I didn’t find many shops of that I would frequent. Seemed many were for charities, like pets and people with different ailments. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many charity shops in one place! Guess we missed the high streets with the “high” end shops, not that I would shop there either.

Another day we got Bruce’s glasses fixed and wandered the High street in Bournemouth. I got a decent hair cut while Bruce browsed the Waterstones book store, one of the top ones in Britain. According to Bruce they have fabulous children’s books i.e. a monopoly game where all the hotels and streets are from Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. Sunny day and no wind which was great to sit outdoors and watch people go by for a while. So, with less than a week left here we are “getting things done”.

Heard from a friend of a complete city in model form in Hamburg, Germany. He sent a video – incredible! Moving cars, planes, transit, workers, police arresting people, shown during the day and at night. So although it is a 6.5 hour train trip north of Freiburg it looks to be another destination for us in the Spring. Always looking for new places to go and things to do. So we are welcome to suggestions from anyone reading this.

Decided at the spur of the moment to go to Christchurch, neighbouring town to Bournemouth. What a beautiful place! It has a protected harbour so swans and ducks swim along. The swans are not shy of humans, I went to put some trash in a can and one walked straight up to me. I know they can bite so I backed away slowly!

They look so innocent and small.... Not....

No yachts here, working fishing boats, sail boats and in the summer tour boats. Looks to be a bit of a  poorer cousin to Poole but I liked it better, shops were small and interesting, many with hand made goods.

Christchurch it is best known for the Priory. Extremely picturesque building with surrounding graveyard, gardens and a river walk. We didn’t go in but you can see it from the virtual tours on this website www.christchurchpriory.org under the fabric/history button, it is over 900 years old! The graves mostly cannot be read due to the lichen on them but they are pretty.

We had an excellent lunch by the wood burning fireplace in a restaurant along the water.

Pond in the Priory Gardens

Sunshine through the window

Priory Entry way

We’ve been taking buses as mentioned. There are actually two not three bus companies here. Bus drivers we’ve “met” are all friendly and helpful. In fact we did get a free one way ride, the driver said it’s okay luv. If you’ve ever been to the UK they use luv, or love often at the end of a statement, although friends I have from the UK don't. Bus riders say “Thank you” on leaving and “Hello” when getting on board, everyone is polite and the drivers are not visibly stressed. Ride tickets are purchased from the driver so some stops take a while but unless buzzed to stop and someone doesn’t wave for a stop, they don’t. Somehow it all works on a schedule that is surprisingly accurate for timing. Both companies service the three towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch.

There is a subway here I found out today. I think it probably runs to London. But no light rail, hence, so many buses.

I spent some time in a morning re-booking hotels for our return trip. We need to drop the car around 10:00 in Dover so need to stay overnight in Folkestone or Dover prior to that day, that backed everything up a day.

This time of year many Brits come to this area of the UK because it’s warmer here than up north so places book up ahead of what one would expect in winter months.

Met a lovely couple and have emailed them, Joe and Julie, intelligent people who have run their own business and he was very interested in Bruce’s coat. Julie might buy one for his 60^th birthday. He even tried it  on. We got along together very well and hope to stay in touch, another meeting  of like minds which is why to go to neighbourhood places.

While I like to blend in to a local culture as much as possible, our parkas don’t allow, either here in the UK or in Germany. We need them for warmth and have been vindicated on buying many times so conversly Bruce’s coat has become a way to meet people, on the street, in pubs which is great really and a starting of conversation with locals.

Went back to Christchurch on a rainy day. Took a different bus system which took longer and used the highway more so not as interesting. Being Friday afternoon we got stuck in traffic coming back.

We went into the Priory this time and what a jewel of a church it is! We talked to a guide who gave us much more information and enjoyed our time there. Here were groups of various aged childen inside with their musical instruments, ready for a Christmas concert later in the day. The active noise of the kids made it a joyful place rather than many of the churches we’ve been to where you need to whisper to maintain the respectful atmosphere of the church. As with many churches, picture taking is not allowed, they want to encourage purchase of theirs to help fund the upkeep. Makes a lot of sense.

We don’t always go into churches, like a certain someone I know, but this was definitely worth a look and unless you do look you might miss out on something grand!

One more day in Bournemouth and I am both excited to leave and a bit sad, despite our earlier problems with the hotel. I suspect I was imposing standards used in both Canadian and German ways onto different country which don’t  apply here. Here I thought I’d grown out of that!

We are on to new adventures in a beautiful countryside without WiFi access in our cottage but it is available down the road so will stay in touch as much as possible.

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat