Tuckton Bridge to Wick Ferry

Tuckton Bridge spans the River Stour and dictates the limit of navigability for sailing boats. Motor boats can moor further up the river and it is possible to continue further inland along the river in small oar or motor driven craft. There is a nice pub ("The Riverside") alongside the river just upstream of the bridge. Here you can have a beer and/or a meal while sitting outside near the river. The pub is very popular. In nice weather the pub and garden are both usually well used.

Immediately downsteam of Tuckton Bridge are the Tuckton Tea Gardens. This section of the river is perhaps the most commercialised with a small golf course, a cafe, ferry point and boat hire facilities. However these facilities generally blend in well with their surroundings, serving visitors without ruining the natural beauty of the river. The small cafe is set in pleasant grassed gardens with a rose trellis. The cafe serves tea, and more substantial meals for most to the year. Like the Pub, it is a very popular location.

Tuckton Bridge is also the boarding point for the Tuckton ferry boats that run a regular service to Mudeford Sandspit, stopping at Christchurch Quay. More information regarding their service and schedule can be found here:

Bournemouth Boating Services

You can also hire rowing boats and small motor boats at Tuckton for personal use on the river.

The ferry boats that ply a trade from Tuckton down through the harbour to Mudeford Sandspit provide an efficient method to get to the sandy beaches at Mudeford Spit. They also provide a wonderful scenic journey through the width of Christchurch Harbour. It is a great way to start and end a day at the beaches.

The ferry boats themselves were specially designed for the shallow depth of Christchurch harbour. If I remember correctly, they are now essentially well cared for antiques. They were built in the 1950's at a local boat-yard, which is no longer in existence.

One of the ferries is still varnished and you can marvel at the clever and beautiful craftsmanship that went into producing these unique craft. These boats were built to last by skilled and clever engineers. It is unlikely that the skills needed to manufacture them to their original specification exist today.

Looking up the river from just below the Tea Gardens you can see the small island that sits just in-stream from the bank. Nose on boat moorings occupy the narrow channel to the Tuckton side of the island along with a private slipway. The main river side of the island provides mooring for larger craft as well as providing access to a number of Pile moorings in the middle of the river

The bank of the river is lined with moorings which sit just off the bank. While the river maintains a navigable depth at this point it is still tidal and the tidal swing can be as much as a couple of meters. In heavy rain and flooding the river will overtop its banks even as far up as this. the area around the river is a well maintained set of meadows which lend themselves well to family picnics and general relaxation. There is a car park for about 75 carrs on a gravel base. While the car park is well maintained I have in the past found the loose nature of the gravel a problem when trying to move a wheelchair across it. That aside, this area of the River Stour and the Stour vaslley way is perhaps the most accessible for wheelchair users and their companions.

The ferry at Wick, which provides passenger transport across the River Stour from Christchurch Quay to the village of Wick has been in existence for a thousand years and is mentioned in the Doomsday book. Just beyond Wick ferry lies a public slipway

On Wick bank of the river the moorings end with a set of nose on moorings just below the Wick ferry. An inconsequential gate half way along this stretch gives access to the footpath to Hengistbury Head