Hengistbury Head’s coastguard lookout station brought back after two decades
An abandoned coastguard lookout station at Hengistbury Head has been brought back into use.
Initially, around 60 volunteers for the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) will be manning the station on top of Warren Hill after it was refurbished. It had been closed since the mid-1990s.
The first watch in the refurbished hut took place on Friday. The watchkeepers are currently providing cover from 9am-6pm, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays. However, as more become qualified, coverage will increase to every day (excluding Christmas Day), 8am-8pm in the summer and 8am-5pm in the winter.
Up until now, the NCI had been working from the beach office at Southbourne, next to the Bistro on the Beach restaurant.
Acting station manager at Hengistbury Head, Brian Roberts, said the station provides the ideal spot to watch from Barton-on-Sea in the east, through Christchurch and Poole Bay, and 12 miles out to sea round Bournemouth Pier in the west.
It will bridge the gap between existing stations at the Needles on the Isle of Wight and Swanage.
Watchkeeping involves maintaining a visual, radio and radar watch and reporting emergencies to the coastguard. Volunteers can then advise rescue authorities of a casualty’s exact position and the conditions on scene.
Those based at Hengistbury Head will also be able to act as an emergency contact point for walkers on the Head.
Volunteer watchkeepers come from all walks of life and have a wide variety of skills and experience. They receive full training and the station operates during daylight hours.
Those volunteering at Hengistbury Head so far range from people in their 30s to those in early retirement.
The NCI was established in 1994 after many coastguard lookout stations around the UK coastline were closed, lighthouses became unmanned and lightships removed.
There are now 50 NCI stations in England and Wales, manned by more than 2,400 watchkeepers. Last year NCI members helped in 493 incidents, initiating 300 of them of which 218 involved lifeboat rescue.
This story is by Jade Grassby in the Bournemouth Echo.
