Hamworthy: a shoreline stroll
Angus Rich explores a shoreline lesser-known to strangers to Poole
Published in October ’18
Known to the Romans as Moriconium, Hamworthy may be thought of by some outside Poole as little more than a former industrial area famous for once having had a power station. They might also know about it being linked to the town of Poole by both the old (but recently refurbished) lifting bridge and the relatively new Twin Sails bridge, which may well be alone in Dorset bridge history in having an infants’ school and nursery named after it.
A rather more impressive jetty with out of the water storage and yet still one man launching
As well as its industrial and residential parts of Hamworthy, and the extensive Rockley Park holiday centre and former Royal Marines base, there is another part of Hamworthy that boasts lovely views of the Purbeck Hills, of Brownsea Island and the more industrial port of Poole.
At the western end of the stroll these rooftops are inspired by sailing vessels
This shoreline is just about walkable between the low-water and high-water marks if you don’t mind jumping up and jumping down from concrete, ducking under wooden walkways and occasionally getting your shoes wet. It is pretty much all south-facing, apart from the eastern end, where the beach in front of Hamworthy Park bends around to go roughly north where the park ends.
Flotsam from stormy days leaves a fascinating variety of objects on the walkway
You’ll see pretty much all the same kind of activity that you might see from Sandbanks, but you’ll likely be on your own except for the occasional dog walker. Even in early afternoon on a beautifully sunny day, no-one crossed my path as I went from the Lake Road access to the shore, right along until I reached the beach at the western end of Hamworthy Park.
Just as one would at an Aegean port, one can see swimmers and holiday-makers with commercial marine traffic just a few hundred yards behind them. But you also get stunning views of pleasure boats, old sailing skiffs with ox-blood sails, barges and boats of all shapes and sizes moored to buoys in Poole Harbour with views of the Wareham Channel, Patchins Point, Long Island, Round Island, Green Island, Furzey Island and, of course, Brownsea Island.
At the eastern Hamworthy Park end of the stroll, the beach huts display a greater variety of colour and form, albeit based on your common or garden shed
There is seaweed of different types, boats in all states of repair and indeed mooring docks in all states of repair, from the swanky versions with their electrical lifting gear to the sad, weather-beaten and partially destroyed former piers that testify to the existence of earlier boating activity now departed.
A groyne at the western end of the beach at Hamworthy Park
The walls providing a buttress against the waters of Poole Harbour to the houses beyond vary from ancient and dissolving concrete to the latest tempered glass walls and razor-sharp white rendered walls. The architecture behind is individual and ranges from the very stylish obliquely offset terraces of the Lake Road end to a mishmash of older bungalows on plots that sit cheek by jowl with the very latest in modern bayside living.
Brownsea Island and Poole Harbour may have inspired the Famous Five, but there’s plenty of work going on in the harbour
Hamworthy Park is like a mini-seaside resort in itself. One visitor described it as ‘shabby chic’, which seems a little harsh. It has its own beach huts, seasonal paddling pool and some great kids’ playground equipment as well as a pair of goalposts for kickabouts. Whilst it also has one of the least car-friendly car parks in Poole (only 60 spaces, narrow entrance, nowhere to turn round) it is only chargeable 9.30-15.00 and you get 30 minutes for free. The beach at Hamworthy Park is also a dog-friendly beach all year round.
Some of the wooden jetties have had their share of weather damage
So while Hamworthy may not have the cachet of Sandbanks, it does have an awful lot of things going for it, not least of which is some of the best vistas of Purbeck you will see, safe waters for kids and always something happening in front of you to catch the eye, whether it’s seabirds wheeling on the wind or a pair of windsurfers rising onto their foils and humming their way along to the horizon.
