But first we have to wait for the tide, so spent the day in Totland Bay sunbathing and a spot of on board lunch, consisting of smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls, salad and a bottle of Sancerre.
So, at about 4pm set off for the entrance.
You can just make out the port (red) and starboard (green) bouys. It is very shallow either side of these buoys and if you have a draft of more than 2 metres it's unlikely you can get in. We draw about a metre.
Point H is the "Run" as it is known and there is a tidal race at I and J. Dark colours means deeper water. You can find out more on Wikipedia, or a website called www.christchurchharbour.info. I pinched his aerial photo.
So we kept inside the marked channel to the buoys along F, E and then turned right at L. There is about a 3 metre rise and fall of water but plenty deep enough once in the harbour. We moored at Rossiter's Boatyard (01202 483250, open 9 till 1) directly north above letter K having previously booked - advisable as there are not many berths for visitors.
There is anchoring at certain points in the harbour (possibly between C and D) but of course you need a dinghy to get ashore as there are no water taxis.
Christchurch Quay
So, after mooring up decided to find a nice old fashioned pub and were rewarded with Ye Old George Inn or YOGI for short. They do food all day and evening although we didn't sample any of it, it looked good. They sell a cider at 7% which is very drinkable, not unlike the one in the Wheatsheaf at home. Their wines are very good too, a nice selection. We ate in a restaurant called Splinters (01202 483454 www.splinters.uk.com) which is the No2 (Trip Advisor) Restaurant in Christchurch. It was very good, reasonably priced with great service and a warm welcome. The No1 restaurant is in Mudeford near Mudeford Quay (some distance away) and although good, the portions are small and it's very expensive. A pub I can't recall the name of near Splinters is awful, it's opposite down a side street. Stick to YOGI. Saturday we went for a long walk all around the rivers and did some shopping to re-stock the bar as we were nearly out of gin and tonic.
So, Saturday evening and as we are away 2 nights we usually have a chinese meal whilst away because there aren't any decent ones near where we live. We had a coffee in a small cafe (there are loads of them) and asked the waitress where the nearest one was. There's a takeaway at the top of the high street and a restaurant owned by the same people at 215 Barrack Road, north east off the main roundabout at the top of the high street. It looked quite a long way to me, but we looked on Google Earth and Bill said it didn't look far. He ate his words !! We booked for 8pm. So at 10 past 7 we left, Bill saying we could have a drink in YOGI en route. It was very busy there so decided to walk on. I would say that from our boat to the restaurant had to be a good 2 miles and we were walking directly into the sun, it was hot, and we were thirsty. We made the 8 o'clock booking with minutes to spare. Called the Dragon Palace (01202 488833) we had a very good meal with some wine which made up for the long walk but it did us good. But we got a taxi back. YOGI was by now packed so called it a day.
Had to get up really early to catch the high tide (7am) so we were back in Portsmouth by 11.00.
This is point M on the aerial view. Hundreds of Swans.
Fantastic weekend.
More to come I think - our friends Alan and Sue were making noises last night (24th) when I saw them so we may do Island Harbour again.
Tomorrow (26th) I'm going to the Mini showroom for a special VIP event, I want to change my car for a soft-top but the deal will have to be good. Our friend Steve is a car trader and has already given me some good tips. He will be looking closely at what they offer me over the weekend.
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