Tuesday 18 November 2008

10th Sept 2008 - Beach of Bournemouth

Day 9


Bournemouth is located 105 miles (169 km) southwest of London. It is a popular tourist destination as it is situated on the south coast of England. The town is a regional centre of education and business, and forms the main part of the South East Dorset conurbation, with the adjoining town of Poole. It is also the largest town on the English south coast between Southampton and Plymouth. Bournemouth is located directly to the east of the Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile (153 km) section of beautiful and largely unspoilt coastline recently designated a World Heritage Site. Apart from the beauty of much of the coastline, the Jurassic Coast provides a complete geological record of the Jurassic period and a rich fossil record.

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Set off unusually late this morning at 10.30am. I didn't have anything planned for the day so I head towards the beach. Following the road signs, I arrived at the seafront. The beach of Bournemouth is very long and huge, sub-divided into east cliff, Bournemouth pier (the centre) and west cliff. I started somewhere in between the end of east cliff and the pier and walk towards the main pier. It’s pretty dull and gloomy and the wind is really strong and chilly. Lucky I had worn another layer of fleece under my jacket.

There were quite a number of people already active on the beach, playing ball games, flying kites, parents / grandparents with their young toddlers building sand castles. Also you see couples young and old strolling along the beaches holding each others hands. I am always touched when I see elderly couples going places together still holding each others hands tightly. Sometimes one of them may not be as fit hence walking very slowly, their partner will always adjust their speed so they could walk at the same pace and lead the way when ascending or descending the stairs and hills so they could offer their hand or shoulder to their other-halves. Ahh...it's a bliss to have found such a loving and caring companion to spend your lifetime with.

The beach is really long and every 100m or so there will be a groynes with a number mark. I started from groynes number 21 and walked all the way to number 1 and beyond before turning back again to the main pier. Along the beach there were beach huts and deck chairs for rent. The beach huts have evolved over the years as you can observe the changes in the design and built. Back at the pier, I bought some chips and sat by the beach. Then the sun started to come out so I went hiding under the pier bridge only to find it too windy and cold. So I went up to the bridge where there's a wall panel blocking the wind and also a roof sheltering the sun and found myself a seat on a chair. Now warm and shaded, I finish up my chips and then munch on the apple I brought. It's really a good place so I decided to sit there and relax.

The chair is catered for 3 persons with a handle bar separating the seats to 2-1 arrangement. When I first arrived, there was an elderly couple sitting at the twin seats so I took the single seat. After about 30minutes, the couples left. A man came along and asked if he could take the seat so I said 'Please go ahead'. Then the man introduced himself as Mike (a 51yrs old guy who lives in Bournemouth) and started to ask questions i.e. where am I from, am I still single, am I here for holiday, do I have someone back home, how long will I be here etc. Being a little wary, I kept my answers fairly short and blurred, of course I told a few lies for safety reasons. In the middle of the conversation, he asked to sit closer to me. Erm, I didn't say no as I thought that would be rude and if he tries anything funny then I'll just leave. But at all times, I kept my guards up and try not to encourage him to talk to me by looking away after each short answer. Luckily, probably sensing my distance and coldness, he didn't stay too long and left. Phew... I was pretty relieved that soon another couple came to take the seats so I could continue on sitting at the chair without worrying about some other weird strangers sitting next to me. Well, maybe I'm just a little paranoid but better safe than sorry. Sometime after that, the guy appeared again and walks past me and he actually waved at me. I just gave a polite smile and quickly look away and ignore him. Well that was the last time I saw this guy and I'm sure glad about that.

Around 4pm, I left the pier and went to the tourist information centre to inquire about the Jurassic Coast and also got some maps about the area. I was told that it’s not easily accessible as you need to drive to a certain spot and then take a walk towards the viewing points. Also there are no roads along the coast. Later, I went to Asda to get some food and head back to the hostel. I bought a wholegrain peach yogurt which taste pretty good (it's yogurt with peach cubes, barley, rye, rice, wheat, grains).

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