Misplaced Pages

Middle Beach, Dorset

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Beach in Dorset, England
Entrance to Middle Beach.

Middle Beach is a small beach on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The beach is located north of Studland and is owned by the National Trust.

Beach

The steps to Middle Beach.

The beach has views of Poole from across Studland Bay and Poole Harbour.

Café

A café has stood in the same spot since 1904 and the current building opened in 1953. In 2016, when the National Trust announced that they would be moving the café and public toilets to higher ground due to "coastal erosion and subsidence", 3,000 people signed a petition opposing the move. Plans to demolish the café were later rejected by a vote of National Trust members at their annual general meeting. In November 2022 the café was condemned to be demolished after the lease on the property ran out. The café closed for the final time on 2 January 2023. After its demolition the National Trust was accused of turning the beach in the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty into a "bomb site" and an "eyesore". In 2024, the planned removal of the pumping station, retaining wall and sea defences will take place.

Unexploded devices

On 31 December 2021, police closed the car park after a World War I grenade was uncovered. On 4 August 2022, an unexploded World War II shell was found on Middle Beach and was detonated by Royal Navy's bomb disposal team.

References

  1. "Cafe set to close after nearly 70 years of trading after National Trust decision". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  2. "Middle Beach Studland". Dorset Guide. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  3. "Cafe set to close after nearly 70 years of trading after National Trust decision". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  4. "Middle Beach café to stay while National Trust explores 'all options'". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  5. "Middle Beach Cafe protesters lose National Trust vote". BBC News. 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  6. "Cafe set to close after nearly 70 years of trading after National Trust decision". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  7. "Cafe set to close after nearly 70 years of trading after National Trust decision". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  8. ""An institution": Sadness as much-loved and historic café closes". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  9. "Demolished beach cafe site branded 'a horror show'". Bournemouth Echo. 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  10. "Work to begin in new year at site of demolished popular cafe". Bournemouth Echo. 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  11. "Beach car park closed off and bomb disposal called after hand grenade found". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  12. "Unexploded WW2 shell found on Middle Beach in Studland detonated". BBC News. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
Stub icon

This Dorset location article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: