The riverside villages of Holdenhurst and Throop predate Bournemouth by centuries, the Parish of Holdenhurst stretching to the sea, and known at the Mother of Bournemouth.  Settlements date from the Bronze Age with Tumuli on Berry Hill.  For hundreds of years the river was well versed in smuggling contraband upstream from Christchurch.

Always a rural community the settlements were strung along the southern banks of the River Stour by farm tracks and rural footpaths which remain to this day. (which accounts for the inadequate infrastructure for the 21^st century)

Site under construction