Solo swimmers achieve first time record for Old Harry to the Needles Congratulations to Kirstie Beechey from Verwood who swam 16.4 miles from Old Harry Rocks to The Needles with her training partner, Sarah Newman. The stretch of water had never been swum solo before and the two women wanted to share the experience by completing the entire distance together. Kirstie said, “It was an absolutely awesome, but tough swim that I hope will serve me well.”
The worst part she said was getting ‘twitchy neck’ when she spotted the white cliff of the Needles and couldn’t help looking at it. “With twitchy neck comes hurty shoulder,” she explained, but after lots of reminders and finger wagging from the support boat, she kept her head down. Kirstie hopes to swim the English Channel solo for the first time next July and will be raising money for Dreamflight UK and the Piam Brown Ward.
Long-awaited redevelopment due to start in October The long-awaited redevelopment of Ferndown’s skate park is due is due to start in October with an anticipated completion in December 2020. The new concrete facility has been designed to meet the needs of both inexperienced and experienced users and provide a resource that can be enjoyed by people of all ages on skateboards, scooters and BMX bikes.
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VIEWPOINT October 2020
Bendcrete was selected as the preferred contractor. The project received significant funding from heathland mitigation funds, which was approved by East Dorset District Council and Natural England in 2018. The funding of £107,500 requires the wheel park to be suitable for multi-use wheel sports specifically BMX and bike riding to enable the facility
She swam the Channel in a relay in 2017 for charity. Old Harry to the Needles took Kirstie 9 hours and 54 minutes – quite a feat. The shortest route across the Channel is 21 miles and can take anywhere between 7
and 27 hours to complete. We wish Kirstie every success next July.
to support a reduction in illegal dirt jump building and associated antisocial behaviour on local nature reserves. Longevity of the new facility was also considered to be vital which contributed to the decision to have a concrete surface. The remaining funding has come from Dorset Council (Leisure Development Fund), Ferndown Town Council (Section 106 contributions), and fundraising from mayoral events and competitive events at the current park. Cllr Mike Parkes, chairman of the council’s Project Group steering the redevelopment
commented, “The re-design of the current facility has been a long time in the making so it is extremely exciting to see the commencement of the long-awaited improvements. The local user group has campaigned for a number of years now to update the current facility and the council is grateful for their input in creating a unique and inclusive design which will meet their needs and attract other users of multi-use wheel sports. This will be a fantastic community asset and my thanks goes to all those involved for their vision, hard work and team work.”
To sponsor Kirstie visit https://www.justgiving.com/ team/kbeechey
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