16th December 2019. The National Coastwatch Institution station at Hengistbury Head held their first NCI Christmas carol service.

The watchkeepers were joined by the Mayor of Bournemouth, representatives from BCP Council, Hengistbury Head Rangers, Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre, Mudeford RNLI, Poole RNLI and the Friends of Hengistbury Head NCI.

A spokesperson for NCI Hengistbury Head said, ”What a fabulous turnout we had on a dank and dreary Monday evening for our first NCI Carol Service. What were the highlights of the evening? Well... the Rev. Chris wore a turkey on his head, Peter, our Station Manager, thought he was doing a reading which turned out to be a dialect ridden, impossible tongue twister of a nautical poem which, if we hadn’t been in a church I suspect may have been dotted with the odd very well-known word and our nautical version of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ received a spontaneous round of applause! Group photos, mince pies and mulled wine finished off a lovely, fun filled, Christmassy service. I think we have just started another NCI Hengistbury Head tradition".