Christchurch (England)

Christchurch is a town in Dorset, famed for its millennium-old priory, from which the town derives its name.

Get in
Christchurch is next to Bournemouth and on the edge of the New Forest.

By car
Via the M3 and M25 Motorways.

By train
is 90 minutes from London Waterloo. South West Trains provide the service to Weymouth.

Get around

 * MoreBus
 * United taxis

Do

 * Take a boat or ferry on the river, visit the harbour with great views of the Isle of Wight.
 * Stompin' on the Quomps is a jazz festival on the quay, next held 5 Aug 2023.
 * Stompin' on the Quomps is a jazz festival on the quay, next held 5 Aug 2023.

Buy

 * Farmer's Market on the weekend.

Eat
A number of good restaurants in the middle of town near the Priory.

Noisy Lobster on Avon Beach serves good seafood M-Th 11:30-23:00, F-Su 09:00-23:00.

Drink
High Street contains two Grade II listed public houses: Ye Olde George Inne, once a coach house, and the Ship Inn which has the oldest licence in Christchurch. A known haunt of smugglers, the Ship Inn's history can be traced back to 1688. At the end of High Street is Church Street which contains Church Hatch, a Grade II* listed Georgian residence. Once the home of Sir Owen Tudor Burne, it was saved from demolition in 1929 by public appeal. Ye Olde Eight Bells, a Grade II listed gift shop in Church Street, was once another alehouse frequented by smugglers and central to a number of local legends.

Go next
Good location for day trips to the New Forest, Lymington and Beaulieu.