A trip to the Seaside: Highcliffe Castle, 8.5 miles, leisurely

This year's trip to the seaside will be a gentle 8.5 miles along the coast from Hinton Admiral station, calling at Highcliffe Castle and exploring the north side of Christchurch Harbour.

Pace: gentle. Ascent: 50m.

This walk will be led by Shannon and Craig.

Please see our website for more information about the group.

Walk details

We'll head out towards the coast from Hinton Admiral station, through Chewton Common. We'll descend to the beach, and walk along the seaside until we reach Highcliffe Castle, sometime around 1pm. You can then choose between lunch on the beach, or heading straight up the hill to the castle.

Although the castle itself isn't open on a Saturday, we should still be able to visit the gift shop or the Castle Pantry Tea Rooms - please be aware that we only intend to stay here for about 45 minutes, and won't have time for a cooked meal, particularly if it's busy. There should also be public toilets here.

After the castle, we'll continue along the coast, descending back to sea level, until we reach Christchurch harbour, adjacent to Hengistbury Head. We'll then walk around the north side of the harbour - the opposite side to the seaside walk last year - and explore Stanpit Marsh Nature Reserve.

Finally, we'll finish the walk in Christchurch and as is tradition, end the day with fish and chips 🐟🍟.

Travel by public transport

From Reading station, catch the 09:52 CrossCountry train which arrives into Southampton Airport Parkway at 10:36. From there catch the 10:42 South Western Railway train which arrives into Hinton Admiral station at 11:31. You can also change between these trains at Southampton Central.

Return trains from Christchurch run at 30 minutes past the hour, every hour till late.

Travel by car

There are car parks at both Christchurch and Hinton Admiral stations, these have 65 and 38 spaces respectively, and need to be paid for using the RingGo app. Christchurch station car park postcode is BH23 1PL, and Hinton Admiral is BH23 7DW.

Advice

• Please bring a packed lunch.
• If it’s sunny, please bring sun cream, a hat, and plenty of water.

Dogs

Dogs welcome provided they are under control at all times and placed on a lead when requested by the walk leader.

Please contact the leader directly if you are delayed on the day or can't find the group (find contact details on our website). We are unlikely to respond to Meetup comments or messages sent on the day in enough time to be helpful.