IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Chine Walk, FERNDOWN, BH22 8PU

Looking west from Parley Cross along this normally busy road, with a common name in this neck of the woods because, of course, Christchurch is a nearby town and several roads lead there. It is only a small segment of Christchurch Road which is within the 2km radius of my project, but we are outside the circle here as this is the nearest sign. It is a modern East Dorset District Council sign featuring its logo at the left-hand end, which will become rarer as the years go by because in April 2019 East Dorset District Council was abolished and became part of the unitary Dorset Council. This is photo no.71 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.

Heading towards central Bournemouth.

Looking diagonally across this busy crossroads from the service road running alongside New Road, outside the shops (from here: Image, although the Co-Op is now a Tesco Express and the post office is now further along). The intersection of the A347 - a main route northward out of Bournemouth and Poole, and the B3073 heading west-east from Wimborne to the airport, make this a very busy junction. However, it was clearly not busy enough to keep the Texaco filling station in operation - we see its canopy in the background - as it closed probably 10 or 15 years ago. The site is currently occupied by a hand car wash outfit, and also I think as a used car sales forecourt. A brief heavy rainstorm on an otherwise beautiful day produces a rainbow beyond.

Busy road junction, with frequent delays because of heavy traffic; to the left & right, A347, built in the 1910s to connect Ferndown & North Bournemouth; from photographer's position and ahead, B3073, from Christchurch to Wimborne. The A347 (still called New Road) shifted the centre of West Parley from the historic centre at the Southern end of Church Lane Image to here.

I'm sure I recall, about 25 years ago, the postbox here being a wall box set into a brick pillar. Either it has been replaced in recent years, or I'm getting it confused with Image a short distance away. But I wonder if that concrete square just to the left of the current box marks its former position. Anyhow, it is an Elizabeth II-reign box and its advertised final collection times are 5:15pm on weekdays and noon on Saturdays.

This postbox stands outside Image and is emptied finally at 5:15pm on weekdays, and at noon on Saturdays. The white building behind it, on the other side of the crossroads, is the former premises of the post office; it moved into the convenience store here about 10 years ago.

The post office at Parley Cross used to be on the northwest corner of the junction but about 10 years ago moved within the general store on the southwest corner, where we see it now.

Towards Wimborne Minster.