Stephen's Castle, Verwood

Taking advantage of a sunny evening and clear blue sky's, on Sunday we drove into the town and took the short walk to the northern common to Stephen's Castle.

There is no castle here but has a viewpoint above a disused sand quarry.

In 1993 the common was designated a Local Nature Reserve.

Grazing cattle have recently been introduced to manage the growth of the grass and ferns.

The view from the top proves that it is still a "Fair Wood" with scarcely any roofs visible of the thousands of dwellings beneath the canopy of trees. This is a peaceful retreat from the hurly-burly of the town centre traffic and affords panoramic views, on a clear day, over to the Isle of Wight, Bournemouth and Purbeck. We took our binoculars with us and were able to pick out various landmarks on the horizon.

You can see Bournemouth International Airport in the near distance and planes parked on the tarmac. The water tower at Tower Park retail park is also visible.

In the far distance you can pick out the various high rise buildings of Bournemouth and Boscombe with the Purbeck Hills beyond that.

To your left can be seen Hengisbury Head with the Isle of Wight in the background