Total 18km – 9.5 along the Coast
We parked at Highcliffe Castle, but only then realised that the maximum stay is 4 hours and so had to complete the walk in that time. So took the shortest route back to Barton, which is along the main road through Highcliffe “village”. Actually, quite a busy main road and not very interesting. Having crossed the Chewton Bunny we followed the official Coastal path through a housing estate to the grass along the cliffs at Barton-on-sea.
We collected take-away coffee and walked down the ramp by the Beachcomber café, then back up the next ramp and past the Cliff House hotel, near the edge of the cliffs and along the grass to the Holborn Naish static caravan park. Rather unfriendly notice did not encourage us to walk through the park to Chewton Bunny and so we retracted our steps back to the main road.
The Needles 
Barton-on-Sea 
The retreating cliffs from Barton-on-sea to Chewton Bunny are rather unstable with extensive landslides which for many years has closed the paths between the cliff top and the beach. The sands and gravels of the Barton Beds change to a soft clay on the seaward side of the Naish holiday park and people have got stuck by trying to climb the mud to avoid the incoming tide.
After a rather noisy walk along the main road, we crossed Chewton Bunny, and the border into Dorset before defending an interesting path down the stream to the sea.
Chewton Bunny 
The Cliffhanger Cafe 
Naish Beach
From here we walked along the beach to Steamer point and had lunch behind the beach huts in an area where experiments with radar were conducted during the second world war. This is one of the few undefended lengths of the coast locally where the almost natural cliff in front of Highcliffe castle leads to a sand and shingle beach with a few people swimming in the sunshine, despite a cold North wind.
Then we walked along the busy promenade. We had last come here at the start of lockdown in March and again it was busy with little sign of social distancing particularly around the cafés.
After passing the ”Noisy Lobster” also known as the ”Greedy Lobster” by some locals we walked towards Mudeford Quay. On a sunny but cold September day we were fascinated to see how popular the simple pleasure or “crabbing” still is – crowds of children, with their parents with buckets and lines collecting little crabs with bacon bated lines which they will all return to the sea. A crabs view of the human world would be interesting.
The Ferry from Mudeford Quay to Hengisbury was doing a good trade, though again little sign of social distancing, but we had to return to our car before the car park payment expired.
Mudeford Ferry
