Transport
Christchurch has some 199 kilometres (124 mi) of highway of which 24 kilometres (15 mi) are A roads, 32 kilometres (20 mi) are B and C roads. The town is served by the A35 road which runs from Devon through to Southampton via Poole, Bournemouth and the New Forest. To the north of the town the A35 connects to the A31, the major trunk road in central southern England which provides access to the M27 motorway at Southampton. The A338 road runs northwards from Bournemouth through Christchurch to Ringwood in Hampshire.
Two bus companies operate within the borough: Wilts & Dorset buses and Transdev Yellow Buses. Together they provide direct routes from Christchurch to: Alderney, Beaulieu, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Burley, Burton, Highcliffe, Lymington, Milford on Sea, Mudeford, New Milton, Parkstone, Poole, Ringwood, and Westbourne. During the summer months, it is possible to travel directly to Chichester, Dorchester, Hedge End, Paultons Park, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Southsea, and Weymouth.
Christchurch railway station is on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. Services are operated by South West Trains and depart for London Waterloo twice an hour, Monday to Saturday; and hourly on Sunday. Weymouth, Dorchester, Wareham, Poole, Bournemouth, Brockenhurst, Southampton and its airport, Eastleigh, Winchester, Basingstoke, Farnborough, Woking, Waterloo can be accessed directly from Christchurch station.
Bournemouth Airport is situated in Hurn (a small village within the Christchurch Borough boundary) and is around 3.75 miles (6.04 km) north-west of Christchurch town centre. Originally an RAF airfield, the airport began commercial services in the late 1950s and now serves around 800,000 passengers annually. Ryanair, EasyJet, Thomson Airways and Palmair operate from the airport and provide scheduled flights to European, North African and Caribbean destinations.
During the summer months small passenger ferries travel between Tuckton and Mudeford Spit via the town quay. Another ferry crosses the Stour between Wick and the Quay just below Tuckton Bridge. This ferry was running before the bridge was built in 1882 and was then, the only crossing below Iford. Another ferry service operates across the harbour entrance from Mudeford Sandbank to Mudeford Quay. This ferry was operated by rowing boats until the 1960s; payment being at the discretion of the passenger.
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