Christchurch sits at the top of Christchurch Harbour, and the beach is at the bottom of it, on the long sand spit of Mudeford Sandbank below Hengistbury Head. Between April and the end of October a 1930s wooden launch links the two roughly every 45 minutes, calling at Christchurch Quay on its way down from Tuckton. This page covers that boat; the short shuttle from Mudeford Quay across the harbour entrance belongs to another company and is not covered here.
Operator's undated timetable sheet, first published in 2023 and still the current version on its website when read on 7 October 2026; boats run daily from April to the end of October. Bournemouth Boating — ferry timetable (PDF) · 2026-10-07
Christchurch, in Dorset, stands where the River Stour flows into Christchurch Harbour, a wide, shallow inlet that meets the sea beside Hengistbury Head and the sand spit of Mudeford Sandbank. From the town the beach on that spit is straight down the harbour by water, which is why a boat service has run from the town quay to the Sandbank for most of the last century.
The boats on it were designed for this geography. In the 1930s local owner-operators had a fleet of Headland launches built at a local boatyard: wide, flat-bottomed and drawing only about ten inches of water when empty, so that they could carry fifty passengers across the shallow harbour without running aground. Some of them are still at work, now run by Bournemouth Boating Services from Tuckton Tea Gardens upriver.
Today Christchurch Quay is the middle stop on a line that starts at Tuckton and calls at the Wick Ferry landing before heading down the harbour. From the Quay it is nine departures a day to the Sandbank, from April to the end of October.
From Christchurch Quay to Mudeford beach an adult pays £11 single or £14 return. Over-65s and NHS staff who show identification pay £10 and £13, and a family ticket (two adults with two children) costs £37. Children under 12 otherwise travel at half price, and under-threes go free.
Boarding further up the Stour costs more: a return from Tuckton to the beach is £16, and from Wick £13. Only the operator's 2026 fare sheet lists these prices, so check them with the crew when you board.
| Adult, single | £ 11 |
| Adult, return | £ 14 |
| Concession (65+ or NHS, with ID), single | £ 10 |
| Concession (65+ or NHS, with ID), return | £ 13 |
| Family (2 adults, 2 children) | £ 37 |
| Child under 3 | Free |
| Wick, single | £ 12 |
| Wick, return | £ 13 |
| Tuckton, single | £ 13 |
| Tuckton, return | £ 16 |
Fare sheet dated April 2026 on the operator's website, read on 7 October 2026; no second source publishes these prices Bournemouth Boating — ferry fares (PDF) · 2026-10-07
From the Quay the boat leaves the river behind and runs down the length of Christchurch Harbour, a broad, shallow basin, to the inside of Mudeford Sandbank. At the end of the spit the harbour opens to the sea; the separate Mudeford ferry shuttles across that entrance from Mudeford Quay and is not covered here.
Along the coast to the east, Lymington has the Isle of Wight car ferry to Yarmouth, and in Hampshire the pink Hamble ferry likewise works on the walker's timetable rather than the motorist's.
At Christchurch the boats use the stretch of quayside west of the public landing, which BCP Council keeps clear for ferries; the self-drive boat pontoon is just to the east. The boat you board has already called at Tuckton Tea Gardens and the Wick Ferry landing upstream, so on busy days some seats will be taken.
Self-drive motor boats can also be hired here between April and October if you would rather potter on the river than head for the beach.
The Sandbank is the spit of sand below Hengistbury Head where the harbour meets the sea. The boats tie up at its ferry landing, which the national transport database records as the Hengistbury Head ferry landing.
BCP Council tells boat owners that the Sandbank jetty has no public access and that visitors should come by ferry instead.
Take an early boat down and the 17:00 back. Going down leaves the Quay at 20 minutes past, five past, fifty past or thirty-five past the hour, so check the grid rather than guessing.
The operator asks passengers to call before travelling when the weather is poor; its number is on its website.
The Mudeford ferry from Mudeford Quay is a separate company with its own fares. A ticket on this boat does not cover it, and vice versa.
A family of four, two adults with two children, pays £37 between Christchurch and the beach. Under-threes are free and under-12s pay half.
Boats run from April to the end of October. Out of season there is no service from the Quay, though the tea gardens at Tuckton stay open all year.
The operator invites you to stay aboard for the whole circuit or to step off at Christchurch or the beach and catch a later boat.
The launches have a war record. According to the operator's history, Headland Belle was crewed by Wrens as a tender at the naval base in Exbury House and appears in Nevil Shute's novel Requiem for a Wren, while other boats patrolled Chichester Harbour or were sent to the Clyde. Most were back in Christchurch service between 1946 and 1948.
Trade was heavier in the 1960s, when a holiday camp at Wick Ferry and a model-village attraction at Tuckton fed passengers onto the boats. Both have gone, and many beachgoers switched to the motor ferry from Mudeford Quay or the land train from Hengistbury Head, which leaves the Christchurch boats as the slower, more scenic way down the harbour.
No. The boat from Christchurch Quay is run by Bournemouth Boating Services as part of its Tuckton–Mudeford river service. The short Mudeford ferry across the harbour mouth from Mudeford Quay belongs to a different company, Mudeford Ferry Limited.
10:20, and then roughly every 45 minutes until 16:20. The sheet times them at 10:20, 11:05, 11:50 and so on.
Boats leave the Sandbank roughly every 45 minutes from 10:50. The last is the 17:00, which reaches Christchurch Quay at 17:20 and carries on to Wick and Tuckton.
£14 for an adult, £13 for over-65s or NHS staff with ID. A single is £11.
No. The operator runs the ferries from April to October, finishing at the end of October.
Yes. Boats leave Tuckton Tea Gardens at 10:00 and every 45 minutes after, calling at Wick and Christchurch Quay. A return from Tuckton to the beach costs £16.
The Headland launches date from the 1930s; the operator marked the fleet's 90th anniversary in 2024. Two have since been given fixed cabins for wet days.