Beautiful Dorset, West Country.

[♥ Lily ♥]

The local cuisine: https://www.visit-dorset.com/food-and-drink

[♥ Lily ♥]

The beautiful, quiet, and the very English small town of Christchurch in Dorset, close to where I grew-up and where many of my relatives were born, wedded, and it's also the place where my grandmother peacefully died.

My loving grandparents would often take me and my sisters and cousins to visit the charming town of Christchurch when we were children and we'd sip Dorset cream teas and eat English scones with jams in pretty traditional English cafes, and go on boat trips together there. Happy memories.





[IMG] [/IMG]

Christchurch is a town and borough on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in the county of Hampshire, it became part of the administrative county of Dorset in the 1974 reorganisation of local government. Covering an area of 19.5 square miles (51 km2), Christchurch had a 2013 population of 48,368, making it the fourth-most populous town in Dorset, close behind Weymouth which has a population of 54,539.

Founded in the seventh century at the confluence of the rivers Avon and Stour which flow into Christchurch Harbour, the town was originally named Twynham but became known as Christchurch following the construction of the priory in 1094. The town developed into an important trading port, and was fortified in the 9th century. Further defences were added in the 12th century with the construction of a castle, which was destroyed during the English Civil War by the Parliamentarian Army. During the 18th and 19th centuries smuggling flourished in Christchurch and became one of the town's most lucrative industries. The town was heavily fortified during the Second World War as a precaution against an expected invasion and in 1940 an Airspeed factory was established on the town's airfield which manufactured aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

The town's harbour, beaches, nature reserves and historically important buildings have made Christchurch a popular tourist destination attracting some 1.5 million visitors a year. Bournemouth Airport, an international airport which handles approximately 800,000 passengers a year, is located within the borough boundary at Hurn. The airport's industrial park contains a number of aerospace and engineering businesses and is one of the largest employment sites in Dorset. Christchurch is a popular destination for retirees, and has one of the oldest populations in the country, with 30 per cent of residents aged over 65.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch,_Dorset

[♥ Lily ♥]

[♥ Lily ♥]

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/un...orset-england/

[♥ Lily ♥]

[♥ Lily ♥]

[♥ Lily ♥]

[♥ Lily ♥]

There's lots of old smugglers coves in Dorset as the area has a lot of history of pirates
(along with the neighbouring West Country county of Devon.)

This video is eerie and shows an old pirates graveyard on the beautiful Isle of Portland, Dorset.
https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore/towns/portland

[Daco Celtic]

Very cool. I was trippin' out on all the palm and yucca trees I saw in the photos. Looks like Santa Barbara in some photos.

[♥ Lily ♥]

Dorset in the south-west (West Country)
is still popular with large groups of motorbikers/Hell's Angels
passing through the coastal regions,
English Gypsies/Travellers and Pagans passing through some areas,
(rather like Lancashire in the North-West in that respect,)
farmers, and fishermen.

I have some relatives living in Poole which is very close to the seaside town
where I grew-up on the south-west coast,
and would frequently visit Poole Harbour
and Poole Park and Poole Pottery sites as a child.

'Oh, we'd be alright if the wind was in our sails...'


There's also a motorcycle speedway team named as 'Poole Pirates'
which is based in Poole, Dorset, south-west England,
competing in the SGB Premiership.

Since 2001 the Poole Pirates motorcycle club has won twelven major trophies,
including the Elite League Championship in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
and SGB Premiership Champions in 2018.