G.Knowles's video: Paragliding at Barton on Sea New Milton Hampshire July 2022 2 0

Barton-on-Sea is a cliff-top village in Hampshire, United Kingdom with close connections to the inland town, New Milton,its civil parish to the north. As a settlement, Barton has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. Its housing, few shops and numerous hospitality venues were largely built in the 20th century. Barton is notable for the many fossils to be found in the Barton geological beds in the cliffs, as well as for the significant sea defences built to defend the cliffs against coastal erosion. Barton on Sea is a suburb of New Milton, is a very popular retirement location. Approximately 36% of the population are retired. The population of Barton in the 2001 census was 6,849. Becton Bunny is a stream that flows out under Becton Lane along side Willow Walk through to Barton on Sea Golf course and out into the sea at Barton on sea beach. You can see it around Friars walk also and starts around Farm Lane North near the A337. The day I walked this path in August 2020 the wind was so strong it made ( for me being partially sighted ) very difficult. Especially along the cliff tops which have eroded at a alarming rate compared with the walk I did some years earlier. In the First World War Barton was the site of a convalescent home for Indian service men and this is commemorated by an obelisk in the village which was erected in 1917. In 1927, a maternity hospital known as the Grove Maternity Hospital was founded, and where many local people were born, until the hospital closed in 1988. During World War II, the sea front at Barton was made a restricted area and metal defences including a pillbox were built, in the event of a German invasion. The beach is separated by a 34-metre high cliff, although there are connecting paths from the village. A cliff-top path runs between Barton and the village of Milford on Sea; the Solent Way stretches to Emsworth, on the West Sussex border. It is also well known for the fact that it was the first place in England to try out rock groynes. The cliffs are frequently used for paragliding especially near Barton on Sea car park. At the eastern end of the village is the Barton-On-Sea Golf Club, which is notable for comprising three loops of nine holes.