THE new visitors' centre at Hengistbury Head welcomed the public through its doors on the 14th December, full news article on the Daily Echo website...
This visit I had time to have a proper look at this site. The feature you see when you first get here is an impressively big pair of banks and ditches, known as the double dykes. These are the main defensive feature for the settlement. They run north to south and cut across the narrowest point here.
Behind the banks is a field called Barn field in which there is a large bowl barrow in pretty good condition.
The next feature is Warren hill which is 90 metres in height and has steep sea cliffs on one side. It is a steep climb all the way round this hill, and it is an easily defensible position. On the hill there are several round barrows, the most easy to see was a low bowl type, gorse covered another 2 low ones.
I remember visiting Hengistbury Head many years ago whilst accompanying my grandmother on a weekend break away from home. As I recall, there is some variety of motorised train ( several carriages hitched to the back of a tractor/land rover) which takes one round the promontory. The whole thing is home to masses of heathland flowers and wildlife; I recall Grandma saying that there was lots of ling growing there. It was very cold and windy, and for some reason I kept thinking about Willan & Searle's '1066 And All That' in which they claimed that it was the spot Hengist and Horsa landed, then started agriculture - or something. Those of you who have read it will know what I'm on about. Good views though.
Stumped for somewhere to go at the weekend, someone suggested Hengistbury Head. Should have known it was going to be swarming with people considering it's surrounded by Christchurch and Bournemouth (and the sea). But go on a cold day and I expect you could have most of the paths to yourself, and the beach. It's a sandy promontory, falling into the sea. The site's been occupied for 12,500 years! and some important mesolithic evidence has been found there. Neolithic tools have been found, though they don't think there was a settlement. Also there are Bronze Age barrows, and some pretty enormous Iron Age double dykes cutting the point off from the mainland.
All the people almost spoiled it, but I should have expected them and it was a lovely day anyway. There are some massive concrete paths for the masses, but if you wanted to stray down the smaller tracks I think you'd get some peace. Most people were as usual 100m or less from the car park and the caff.