Visit the town centre and harbour. View picturesque photos of the rivers. Watch streaming video of the town centre and riversides. View panoramas of key points of interest. Clicking on thumbnails will enlarge images, initiate an interactive picture of today/previous time or use the photo album to view the photos full size. All this from the convenience of your desktop. Use the menu on the left under "Virtual Tours" to navigate.

Take a look at the town centre and streets, many of the buildings have stood in their locations for two centuries or more. Wander alongside the banks of the River Avon and the Millstream. Picturesque views of the River Stour as it flows towards the harbour and finally the sea. Visit the harbour, a natural safe haven, where it gives access to the sea past Mudeford Quay. Pictures pop-up in a custom window (subject to your javascript / security settings) and can be closed by the "close window" at the bottom of the page. Some of these images are interactive, ie; you can view different angles or are Panoramic.

Panoramas. Depending on your connection speed the panorama will load and allow you to look around the selected area. The image automatically rotates but to stop click on image and then you can control direction using your mouse. To restart the rotation refresh the page using your browser button. Note: Java is required, from Sun Micro Systems the original developer. (Recommended) Click here for more info and to download Java Runtime plug-in or update.

Today & Days Gone By

The pictures found in Virtual Tour show Christchurch as it is today. If you are interested in viewing photos of how the town has changed, it's landscape, buildings and architecture since Victorian, Edwardian and later visit Two Centuries which is to be found in History.

Internet Streaming Video

Progressive streaming video means that you do not have to download the movie, it is streamed in packets to your computer. These videos have been optimised for DSL / Broadband at  512Kb(600Kb) and 1Mb(1024Kb) to allow the widest audiences.

The Big Move - From Windows Media to FLV

Movies now available in FLV (Flash Video) format. Encoded for 512Kb to 1Mb and above Broadband using the latest codecs.   Movies are generally processed in 16:9 format (Widescreen) for Christchurch and Dorset video.  Others may still be in 4-3 format.

The move to FLV from Windows Media wasn't an easy choice.  In fact the clarity and resolution of Win Media and file size was of excellent quality, in fact as good as Quicktime, another good format for video.  However, the popularity of Flash and especially FLV (YouTube/Google/Yahoo) videos finally prompted the change.  Nearly everyone using Internet Explorer or Firefox would on clicking a Flash or FLV video would be automatically prompted to install the plug-in or it would be updated instantly.

With many ISP's now pushing as standard the 4Mb broadband in the UK, reliable streaming video is now available to many.