Detour to Christchurch Priory (Dorset)

Having not found Bournemouth entirely to our liking, we decided to take a short detour to the picturesque small town of Christchurch by train.

Stepping off the train, Christchurch had first looked okay but nothing too special, although the church below caught the eye.

My friend and I bought decent shirts from a charity shop to wear at the Chris Isaak gig in the evening.

In one charity shop, a shop assistant told us that she'd been accused of being "racist" through grabbing hold of a non-native shoplifter caught in the act.

And as we moved into the centre, we encountered a vibrant market town and beautiful harbour:

But pride of place was always going to be the old Priory church which, in all its glory, dates back to the 11th century, having replaced a previous church that dated back to Saxon times:

Have just read that Christchurch Priory is one of the longest parish churches in England, being as large as many Church of England Cathedrals:

It certainly was impressive inside:

Love the shot above as it shows where the monks will have said their daily office prayers in pre-Reformation times.

When I see such memorials and sarcophagus devoted to clergy and nobles, I'm forced to question if the deceased are still remembered in some way or not (in Tess of the d'Urbervilles and his Group of Noble Dames anthology, Thomas Hardy stresses that they're long forgotten):

During our look around the Priory, a kind lady came up to my friend to explain that the Lady Chapel and most of the Priory was spared by Henry VIII who is said to have visited the place more than a few times:

Have just read that the Lady Chapel was started near the end of the 14th century and completed in the early 15th century, so quite some work must've gone into it.

Two more historical figures attempting to be caught in time:

The grounds outside the Priory were also worth a look round:

My friend, who is a horticulturalist, almost salivated at the lily pond below:

Before heading back to Bournemouth for Chris Isaak, we took a final look at the harbour:

Have just read that two rivers, the Avon and Stour, flow into Christchurch harbour at its north-west corner.

The building below looked like it had once been a water mill for the Priory:

Yeah, all in all, our trip to Christchurch, with its harbour and Priory, was well worth it, a welcome detour from Bournemouth, which, for us, had lost its prestige as a kind of Victorian watering place.