Bite 13 - Christchurch Harbour

Bite 13 Christchurch Harbour/ Mudeford Quay

With the summer season now upon us it's time to get the sand between your toes and enjoy some very British seaside fun. So we borrow the old Windy and head to Mudeford Quay, where you can moor off the beach or tackle the Race and head into the harbour - max draft 3.5”, so worth doing a little research before hand - more info www.christchurch.gov.uk and moorings@christchurch.gov.uk

Christchurch Harbour was formed at the end of the Ice Age, some 7000 years ago, when sea levels rose, (yep, that old chestnut) vital history repeats itself, and what wonderful natural beauties are created in the process.

 

There was a piece in the paper a few weeks ago titled 'Des res by the sea, no facilities, a bargain at £240k' yes , we were talking about this magical, money earning spit of sand that has the most glorious stretch of beautifully coloured beach huts, providing real family fun through our long British summer season.

 

 Being mid-week we tie up on the pontoon at Mayor’s Mead, on the Stour, enabling us to get the bikes and find the lovely path out to Hengistbury Head starting on Wick Lane.

The Review; The Jetty right on the harbour in the grounds of the Christchurch Harbour Hotel.

 

     

Chef Alex Aitken has worked his magic around this area for many years, via le Poussin and Limewood before settling in Christchurch where he runs three restaurants, move over Padstein we have Mudken now.

The Jetty is a stunning, contemporary timber and glass building, set on the water’s edge. The cloud pruned trees on the terrace adding a Riviera feel, helped along by an azure sky with high cloud mottling – beautiful. All diners get a view of the harbour, interesting at whatever state of the tide, but we watched it roll in and Highcliffe Sailing Club  battle it out against Mudeford SC for their Wednesday evening dinghy race.

We chose the Colombard, a perfect light white to go with our selection of fish. The Jetty’s Villa Saint Michel is a quality example and I can also recommend the Picpoul, though more expensive. It may be old fashioned but they still do les amuse bouche here, and I have to say, it always makes me smile. This time it was a selection of tender warm octopus in a chilli sauce, a dinky seafood scotch egg and some ‘sweet as a nut’ tiny brown shrimp. 

Amuse bouche had us smiling

Alex believes in local and makes the most of Dorset produce. Starters were bouillabaisse for me (as I can never resist the rouille, spread on bread and parmesan mallarky floater) and the infamous Alex twice cooked cheese soufflé, with crunchy, caramalised edges and gooey, eggy joy in the middle; superb.

 

Alex's classic twice baked cheese souffle

Scallops from Weymouth with smokin blobby bits

The bream on crushed new potatoes was just as it should be, the sustainable fish flaking easily on the fork and the buttery spuds tasting like the first Jersey Royals used to - it has something to do with seaweed I’m told, or rather, the lack of it being spread on the land.

And the Weymouth scallops were a delight, visually and orally. Firm, sweet, with a smoked cauliflower puree, apple sauce blobs and cubes of divine pork belly. We couldn’t manage pudding so went for a walk around the deck before the light went.

Tel 01202 400950 dine@thejetty.co.uk

 

The easy path that takes you out to Hengistbury Head

Beautiful carved gate at the visitor's centre by Tom Harvey

The hike or bike: Our old friend Nat Cycle Route 2 takes you out of Christchurch to the sea, Hengistbury Head or to the beach huts at Mudeford and the convivial Beach House Café.

If walking the 2 + miles you can easily catch the train back to Christchurch.

The cycle is a doddle along good, level tarmac, enjoying wonderful views, and avoiding pedestrians.

The nature reserve centre at Hengistbury Head is worth a stop off, if only to admire the beautiful carved gates by sculpture Tom Harvey.

The train will run tired legs back to Christchurch

  

Best of the rest:

Fish & chips – Alexander’s along the main Mudeford Road, past the Nelson pub and before Stanpit. Great reliable fish and chips and worth the queue, then take them along to the quay and watch the sun go down with salty fingers.

Best fish & ships in town? Alexanders on Mudeford Road

The Beach House – over the water via the ferry, casual café with friendly young staff, great for a coffee break or crab cakes and a glass of rose.

Hops tops – the mussels and salmon niciose. Maybe pricey for the actual quality, when compared to other eateries around but for setting and logistics – most of their produce comes over via ferry, just enjoy the moment.

 

The King's Arms - good cocktails, great spot for Sunday lunch

The King’s Arms – walking into Christchurch from Mudeford this pub is on the right just past the bridge, again run by Alex Aitken, who has created a buzzing bar with DJs on Frid & Sat nights

Hops Tops: the 15 mile menu for £15 for 2 courses and a ‘Once Upon a Cosmo’ to start. #local

The Captain’s Table – an attractive minimalist white sugar cube of a building, on the river’s edge as you head up the Stour. Great spot for early drinks or cocktails on the terrace but I haven’t eaten here recently – send your thoughts in if you have please.

Bite 11 - Weymouth

Bite 11 - Weymouth

Weymouth. Fun seaside town with one of the prettiest bays on the south coast. More bars than you can shake a stick of rock at, and a thriving music scene with some excellent food choices, enjoying the bounty of Dorset on land and sea.

Weymouth has a choice of marina berth or harbour mooring. An ever popular summer stop-off whilst heading west or great holiday destination, especially if you have the kids on board, as there are oodles of things to do here. I berthed at the ever friendly, warmly welcoming Weymouth Marina, asked the boys for their best bites and headed into town.

 

  

Weymouth is a free spirit. The bunting is always up in the back streets. The shop owners and restaurant runners, always chipper. They loved the Olympics, eventually, and they are the family face of the Jurassic Coast. Yes, this is fresh fish heaven

And the usual question I ask the locals first is - best Fish & Chips?

There are two camps here - Marlborough, adjacent to the town bridge (famous for introducing the mackerel bap and earning huge support from Hugh FW in the process) or Fish n Fritz, lovely clean, tiled restaurant a couple of streets back

Top end/ top dollar fish can be found at the Dining Room, and if you ever get the chance to try their 'You catch, we cook', grab it. Thought up by dynamic duo Em and Clem Carter (Emma runs B+B Weymouth, Clem is a professional fisherman) he takes people out and what they bring back into port is cooked by Taher. A wonderful day out with excellent edible results - a very special treat. Owner Taher Jibet weaves his magic here and runs a cookery school too

And for in between you have one of my favourite, small, local chains - The Stable, right on the quay, serving pizzas and pies, made from Dorset produce and a huge range of ciders. The George next door shares the same fabulous views over the commercial fishing boats and a percentage of sales goes to the RNLI, a very important service here, especially since losing the Coast Guard.

      

                      

Dorset Burger Company, conveniently near the station

The review –

Dorset Burger Company, 6 King Street, 01305 780888

DBC comes out as favourite friendly, reliable Best Bite in Weymouth. Following their growing success they have now relocated to bigger premises near the station. Opposite the Dorset Real Pie & Ale Shop - also worth a visit

DBC is always busy, and no wonder. All burgers are made from quality meats sourced only from Dorset Farms. They have a few secret, homemade extras, like the paprika seasoned chips and a wonderful pickle type relish - all recipes secret squirrel. No wonder they won Best South West Café TOTW Gold Award 2014

The staff are excellent and families with youngsters had the added bonus of the kids receiving an Easter Egg over the festive weekend.

Hops choice: The March Burger of the Month - The Dirty Moo - see photo

This homemade beef burger is topped with Monterey Jack cheese, that secret 'dirty sauce' and BBQ pulled pork to finish! Juicy, flavoursome, the meat still with a bit of bite and top crunchy coleslaw. Fabulous

 

The Dirty Moo - home made Dorset beef burger with local Pulled Pork

 

Other favourites are the Red Lion with great pub food and well kept beer and live music on Sundays. Lots going on in the convivial Hope Square

The deli on Charlbury Corner

  

The busy harbour, something always going on...

Charlbury Corner – deli, local produce, cheeses etc        Rossi’s Ice Cream

Enzo’s Italian – out on the seafront overlooking Weymouth’s beautiful bay.

Best coffee in Town?

Coffee#1 - Now I know this is a chain, but so is the Stable, which we all love. It's a nice clean building, good meeting place and the pastries are really fresh - I recommend the Portuguese Custard Tart and you have a choice of blends

But I think Bibi’s (a jewel of a fashion shop, with some excellent bags, boots and shoes)  tiny café called Coco’s, serves a very good cup of Italian roast and the landmark, traditional coffee house Suttons is best stop for an early caffeine hit.

    

Proper Fish Market - on the Quay and open every day except Sunday, run by friendly family firm Weyfish. Top quality wet fish and seafood.

Weymouth Marina, Dean & Reddyhoff. Tel 01305 767576 www.deanreddyhoff.co.uk

B+B Weymouth 01305 783008

Other favourites that have recently closed are Floods and Waffle On - so watch this space to hear what happens to the creative people involved here ...

The bike – 2 miles + as long as you like - take the Rodwell Trail out past Asda to Chesil Beach

Bike hire delivered direct to the marina from www.weymouthcyclehire.co.uk 07973 751393

or Jurassic Electric and Signpost Cycling do some interesting tours in the area.

The Rodwell Trail

If you make it up the hill this is the well deserved view

The hike – 1.5 – 3 miles.  Wonderful walks through the Wetlands over the road from the marina. More info on Visit Dorset site below.

Useful sites:

www.visit-dorset.com

www.jurassiccoast.org

Rodwell Trail and many other cycle routes – www.gps-routes.co.uk

Weymouth to Dorchester option:

http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksCycle/dorchester-to-weymouth-cycle

 

Well connected? Twice-hourly trains to Dorchester (11 minutes) and Bournemouth (50-60); to London Waterloo at least hourly (160-190).

From the readers....

Mark Packer "Bournemouth has a beach, Poole has a harbour, Weymouth has both. Helen's Wholefoods is a local treasure. For more traditional seaside fare, head to Fish'n'Fritz in town, then stroll along the prom for ice-cream at Rossi's, opposite the Jubilee Clock. For history, visit the Nothe Fort, at the entrance of the harbour."

Andy McLaughlin "Best thing? Proximity to Portland

No 10 Beaulieu

Home to the Boat Jumble (Sunday 26th) and Lord Montague's country seat, along with one of the few privately owned rivers in the UK

The Boat Jumble comes to town on the 26th April, bringing bargain hunters and traffic chaos to this picturesque village in the New Forest, home to the fairytale Palace House, the Michelin starred Montague Arms and the succulent Fairweathers Nursery, and my Primary School.

The breakfast: Steff's Kitchen. Cyclists and gardeners, hungry hikers and limber locals flood into this airy, barn like building attached to Fairweathers Garden Centre – which has been at Beaulieu as long as I can remember. The breakfast is very popular and there is a good choice from the full English (£7.50) to Eggs Benedict and bacon & egg sandwich – all eggs free range and local. There is always a choice of hot lunch specials – I love their club sandwich – but it’s the queue for home made cakes and scones that always impress me.

The full English

     

Topiarysaurus

   

For lunch – if you partook of the full English above you might consider a scenic stroll along the river bank to Bucklers Hard

The Hike - This unspoilt river is still alive with the calls of Curlews and Green Shanks: walk quietly and you may see a Kingfisher on the branches overhanging the waters edge. An easy 2 mile walk along gravel path. Reward at the end? The Master Builder’s is a cosy hotel with bar attached. The restaurant looks out over gardens to the river and you can while away some happy hours before hitting the path home to Beaulieu.

Hops choice: the steak, ale & kidney suet pastry pudding, followed by the lemon tart

The Sunday lunch at £19.95 for two courses is a pretty and popular choice.

Bucklers Hard Marina

The Master Builders

 

The bike  - I carried on by bike form Buckler’s Hard and passed the skeletal remains of what was once an important base for the Cistercian Monks, having been gifted the land back in 1204; with the Abbey at Beaulieu, the Lay Brothers based here at St Leonards and the monks keeping their fishing boats at Gins Farm, now home to the RSYC, this was quite a prize for Henry VIII to ransack during the Reformation – that darned Cromwell again, I hope you’ve been watching Wolf Hall?

However, the quiet road that runs along to Sowley is a great ride. The sea to your left and farmland all around you, in no time at all I whizz into East End.

For those who haven’t heard of the East End Arms, its claim to fame, firstly is that it serves way above average pub food and secondly that it is owned by bass guitarist John Illsley, who played for Dire Straits and owns the George at Yarmouth as well as this warm hearted pub. The cosy dining room has a log fire burning and some great black & white photos on the walls, fun to recognise the faces, and some classic portraits by David Bailey.

For dinner…

Hops choice: It has to be the beer battered fish & chips for me, this time Whiting, with crisp calamari to start, with a paprika mayonnaise. The fish was white and flaky, just perfectly cooked.

  

Super crisp calamari with paprika mayonnaise

 

And for dessert – the treacle tart. Total with drinks £31

Luckily for me a bunch of regular diners came in just after me and nearly left the building when they saw that the fishcakes weren’t on and the treacle tart had gone. But John is a convivial guy and had soon checked with the chef who pulled forward some haddock and chive fish cakes that he’d made for that evening and a new treacle tart – it was divine! Short pastry, just the right depth of golden goo and a tickle of lemon on the taste buds, but not too much – superb with their homemade vanilla ice cream.

Now, to the wine list. We already know that Ringwood Best and 49er are on tap and very well kept, as is the Thatchers, but the wine list has been selected by a local girl Helen McGinn, of some fame. You may have heard of the Knackered Mother’s Wine Club blog? 

And now Helen’s book has been published if you don’t have time to follow her blog or on twitter @knackeredmutha

She has pulled this wine list together using three local suppliers – we like that! And even more to like is the fact that she has selected my wine of the moment – Gruner Veltliner from Austria, fresh as the hills above Saltzburg and so clear you feel it must be bathing the liver…. enjoy.

If you're having too much fun and haven't even started on the wine list, I’d book room No 2. B&B starts at £95 - £120

Too tired to cycle back to the boat - why not stay the night?

 

Mileage – from Beaulieu to the East End Arms 5:2 miles

Interesting facts – Buckler’s Hard Shipbuilding

Did you know that the Agamemnon Yard is named after Admiral Nelson’s favourite ship, and that it was built at Buckler’s Hard in 1781, one of three naval ships built here that fought at Trafalgar.

Shipwright School IBTC – opening this year. What better place to set up a hands-on facility than here at Buckler’s Hard. The students will work with large sections of timber, using pit saws, side axes and period tools, once commonly used here. This is part of Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard’s 47 week course, more info at www.ibtcportsmouth.co.uk