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Northbourne Place, BOURNEMOUTH, BH10 6DH

Wakefield Avenue all but meets Northbourne Avenue here, but it is cut off for motorised traffic. The public footpath linking the two runs alongside an electricity substation. See Image for the view along the path from the other end.

A short public footpath runs alongside a substation at the dead end of Wakefield Avenue, giving pedestrian access to Northbourne Avenue. See Image for the view along the path from the other end.

The well-to-do bungalows that we glimpse in the background are typical of this whole Northbourne area, below Leybourne Avenue, while detached houses are a little further south. The sign is the standard Bournemouth nameplate from the 1980s, affixed with tubular steel which protrudes at each side. This is photo no.161 of a series of 453 in my coronavirus lockdown walking project: See https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/My-2020-Coronavirus-Lockdown-walking-project for the complete set of photos.

Part of a small layout of roads resembling a fork, Hogue Avenue being the horizontal that holds the three tines of the fork: Ferncroft Road, Ashridge Avenue and Pinewood Avenue. Dudley Road finishes the cutlery analogy by providing the handle, slightly offset from centre. This sign faces down Ashridge Avenue and is of a design that became prevalent in Bournemouth around 1990 and was in use for most of that decade. Many are starting to look a bit shabby now, and this one is a prime example of both afflictions: the blue border fading and the white surface unpeeling. This is photo no.201 of a series of 453 in my coronavirus lockdown walking project: See https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/My-2020-Coronavirus-Lockdown-walking-project for the complete set of photos.

Northbourne's post office is in Ashridge Parade, Wimborne Road, and is one of two Bournemouth branches due for closure in 2008. With 2,500 offices closing nationally this year, that figure may imply that Bournemouth has got off lightly, but the town was particularly badly hit in the 2004 closures, with a dozen out of around 36 being axed at that time – thus, the town has few branches that could now be deemed surplus to requirements. With Dorset's being the 36th of the 42 regional closure plans to be announced, with a six-week consultation period that started on July 15, we can see from previously completed plans that only in the extreme minority of cases is a U-turn likely and the branch retained. The few that have been saved thus far have been where the Post Office Ltd. has conceded a big misjudgement, or where there are future building plans in the area, or adverse changes to buses serving alternative branches, of which the Post Office had been previously unaware. Therefore, I think the demise of this branch will probably turn out to be confirmed in a few months' time. UPDATE: and indeed it was thus. The branch closed on 30 October 2008, while the nearest alternative at Redhill Drive put banners into its window display saying "Welcome to Redhill Drive Post Office" – a nice touch for their new customers.

This postbox is outside Image It has on its top the remains of a direction sign pointing to the post office, such as the one at Image

Looking down this row of detached houses from the top end of Ashridge Avenue, the pavement separated from the road by a hedge, interrupted at each driveway. The sign is of a design that became prevalent in Bournemouth around 1990 and was in use for most of that decade. Many are starting to look a bit shabby now, such as this one with peeling white section, while the original blue border has completely gone (see Image for a better example – also, the name might look better more broadly spaces on two lines like at Aberdare Road, or on the narrower version of the same sign such as at Image]). This is photo no.18 of a series of 451 in my coronavirus lockdown walking project: See https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/My-2020-Coronavirus-Lockdown-walking-project for the complete set of photos.

This public footpath is a little cut-through between the houses of Northbourne Avenue and (in the distance) Palfrey Road. See Image for the view towards us from just ahead, with links to further photos along the path.

A public footpath from Palfrey Road, the next parallel street, comes out on Northbourne Avenue with the expected railings and some old concrete posts. See Image for the view up the path from the pavement ahead, and Image for the next photo on the path behind us.

Looking along this public footpath linking Palfrey Road (behind) and Northbourne Avenue. It looks like it's been a while since this football last saw the end of anyone's boot. See Image for the next photo on the path ahead, and Image for the view behind us.