Beyond The Head

The Route 12 Terminus ...

... was always at the Hiker Cafe at the end of Broadway.

Looks like a good place for a lunch!

Yimmy, yummy!

Here the buses (now MoreBus 70 and 80 amongst others) stop short of an earthwork called the "Double Dykes"

But there is much more beyond, notably the lumpy bit, actually known as Warren Hill ...

... and, after a sharp left hand turn you are on Mudeford Spit.

Here is a drone-type view showing Warren Hill and the Spit ...

... and a view back in the opposite direction from Spit to Warren Hill.

Since April 1968 there has been a wheeled link between the bus terminus and the Spit. The link is provided by what has generally been known locally at the "Noddy Train".

The original was somewhat basic but a delight all the same.

At its peak, the service had THREE "locos".

Over the years the rolling stock has been "interesting". 

The enclosed two wheel carriages look dark and uninviting, but fascinating none the less.

With the retirement of the owning family, the service was taken over by the local Council, a process which included the "retirement" of the traditional stock and replacement by a commercially available Land Train.

Perhaps sadly, the "train" only offer two stops; at the Hiker Cafe for interchange with the buses ...

... and then well  past Warren Hill, the other terminus is a short way along the Spit.

Another option is to come by boat from Mudeford.

The 1C bus stops on the YELLOW road ...

... from where there is a tidy stroll through a massive car park ...

... to Mudeford Quay.

Here there is a ferry (every 15 mins in Summer months) across to a pier on the Spit, not too fat from the Land Train terminus.

The ferry is a very professional jobbie as illustrated by their promotional video.

So there is your round trip. By 1C ,,,

... ferry, land train and 70/80.  Of course, nearly forgot, the open topper 80 also serves Mudeford, so you could be open top all the way round.

Sadly, your MoreBus day rover ticket does NOT include ferry and land train. But you can't have everything - although all-inclusive tickets SHOULD be available!

Tomorrow we go inland to Bedfordshire with a serious lack of tourism apart from a narrow gauge railway.

 Next Arriva blog : Thursday 1st June