//
Email via online contact form. Stables that cater to riders of all abilities from ages 6 and up. Take part in a hack - a group ride out into the New Forest or, if a complete novice you may prefer a walk-out, where your horse's reins are held by an instructor on foot.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Large collection of owls, hawks, falcons, eagles, and vultures, some of which take part in flying displays every day. There is also a small reptile house on site, which puts on occasional shows in the summer. Site can be difficult for wheelchairs. No dogs.
Grade II*-listed Presbyterian meeting house dating from 1727, now houses the municipal archives. A selection of artefacts is on permanent display, and the house hosts numerous events throughout the year, including concerts and art exhibitions.
Worth a look if you're passing is this unusual thatched chapel with whitewashed mud walls and a gracefully crumbling churchyard. If the modern chapel next door is open, it may be possible to look inside.
Christchurch Angling Club
Just west of town, where the river Avon briefly splits into two courses. There are fast-flowing and calmer sections, as well as pools, holes and side streams.
There has been a church on-site for at least 1000 years, though the current building only dates from the 1850s. Look out for the 15th-century monumental brass, a matchstick model of the church made by air raid wardens while on fire watch in the 1940s, and a contemporary triptych depicting the two patron saints and a cross.
Dorset County Council
Explore several miles of walking and cycling trails through open heathland. The park is part of a breeding programme for sand lizards, nationally-scarce reptiles which favour the heaths of southern England. Facilities include a visitors' centre, dog wash, café, picnic area and an imaginative nature-themed play area. Dogs must be kept on-lead March to July.