The Waterside
Sports therapy for Dibden Purlieu swimmers, tennis players and forest walkers
I’m Alice, and from Dibden Purlieu it is about 5 minutes’ drive to my sports therapy clinic in Hythe, close to Hythe Marina. Whether you swim at Applemore, play tennis at Noads Way or walk out from the car park at Dibden Inclosure, I can help with injuries, everyday aches and training, usually starting with an injury assessment.
About Dibden Purlieu
From forest purlieu to post-war village
Purlieu is a word from old forest law, from the Norman French for the outskirts of a forest. It meant ground beside a royal forest that had once been part of it but was later taken out of forest law when the boundaries were surveyed again. That is what happened here: the New Forest’s boundaries were fixed by perambulations around 1300, and this land was removed from the forest in the 14th century. John Manwood described a purlieu as ground adjoining the forest in his treatise on forest law, first published in 1598, and anyone who owned free land in a purlieu worth forty shillings a year was known as a purlieu-man. The land sat in the old parish of Dibden, a manor already recorded in 1086.
Up to the 1950s, Dibden Purlieu was a small settlement next to Dibden village. That changed after Esso’s new refinery at Fawley opened in September 1951, and its growing workforce needed homes. In 1953 an article in the Journal of the Town Planning Institute proposed expanding Hythe and the village into a small town of 10,000 people.
The schools tell the story of that growth. Wildground, on Armitage Avenue, started out in temporary rooms on Lunedale Road, including the Women’s Institute hall next door, before its junior school opened in 1962 and its infant school two years later. The Orchard Infant and Junior schools followed in the late 1960s on Water Lane, beside Noadswood School.
The parish has been called Hythe and Dibden since 1983, and the village still belongs to it. Around 4,000 people live here, in streets that run into Hythe on one side, with the trees of Dibden Inclosure just beyond the other, good ground for the later stages of rehabilitation.
Places you’ll know
- Dibden Inclosure
- A free car park off Beaulieu Road, with the Solent Way running right past it, leads onto a walk of about 2.5 km (1.6 miles) past streams and ponds, with New Forest ponies on the wet heathland of Dibden Bottom.
- Applemore College, Roman Road
- An 11-16 school built in 1969, during the village’s post-war expansion.
- Noadswood School, North Road
- An 11-16 academy that became a specialist Sports College in 2006, with a sports hall, gym, all-weather pitch and playing courts.
- Noads Way open space
- Parish council green space with tennis courts, some fitness equipment, a football kick-about area and open grass. It is closed overnight, with longer opening hours in summer.
- St Andrew’s Church
- A modern church that doubles as a community hub, with weekly services, rooms to hire and a café.
Staying active
Pools, courts and forest tracks
There is plenty on the doorstep. On Claypits Lane, Applemore Health & Leisure has a 25m pool, a gym and a sports hall big enough for six badminton courts, and the parish tennis courts are at Noads Way. If you use the Applemore gym, a strength and conditioning programme ties those sessions to what you’re training for. Cyclists have the Hythe to Brockenhurst route, mostly minor roads with some gravel tracks and a gradual climb from Ipley crossroads to Beaulieu Road Station. Cricket runs deep here too: the village’s own club merged with The Hythe Club in 1948 to form Hythe & Dibden Cricket Club.
Lengths at Applemore can tighten shoulders, badminton and the Noads Way courts are hard on calves, and a gravel ride or rough ground in the Inclosure can stiffen a back or turn an ankle. Sports massage can ease the worst of it, with myofascial cupping as an add-on when a back or shoulder needs coaxing. A turned ankle might get sports taping while it settles, and your rehabilitation plan is built around the court, pool or forest track you’re working back towards.
How I can help
- Sports Massage From £30
Lengths, racket sports and long days at a desk can each leave muscles tight, and a regular massage just down the road in Hythe can help you keep on top of it.
- Rehabilitation From £45
Forest paths at Dibden Inclosure and the gravel stretches of the ride to Brockenhurst are hard on a weak ankle or knee, so a structured plan sets out a clear route back onto them.
- Strength & Conditioning From £50
Whether you train in the gym at Applemore or want more strength for walking the Solent Way towards Beaulieu, a programme in person or online gives your training a clear structure, and the online consultation to get you started is free.
Also available: Injury Assessment, Myofascial Cupping, Sports Taping, Pitch-side & Event First Aid.
Getting here
Getting to the clinic from Dibden Purlieu
I’m based at 3A Ferryboat House, Pylewell Road, Hythe SO45 6AR, a short walk from Hythe Pier. From the centre of Dibden Purlieu it is roughly 1.6 miles by road, around 5 minutes in the car, or 1.4 miles direct.
By bus, Bluestar’s H1, H2 and 9 all pass through the village on their way to Hythe, and route 8 from Southampton calls at Applemore before ending in Hythe. Check the current timetable with the operator before you travel.
I see people by appointment only. Book online (opens in a new tab), send an enquiry or email mendandmovest@outlook.com.
Also close by: Hythe, Dibden, Applemore, Buttsash, Langdown, Marchwood, Holbury, Blackfield, Fawley, Beaulieu, Totton.
Postcodes covered
- SO45
- Postcode district for the village (post town Southampton)
- SO45 4
- Most of the village, including Roman Road and Applemore College
- SO45 5
- The north-western side towards Dibden, including Claypits Lane
- SO45 3
- A few addresses on the south-eastern edge, where the village meets Hythe
Services & pricing
Prices
The same prices apply wherever you travel from.
Treatment & assessment
Rehabilitation & extras
Programme costs may vary depending on individual requirements. Please enquire for current availability and appointment location.
Price list with full detailsGood to know
Questions from Dibden Purlieu
- Which buses run from Dibden Purlieu to Hythe?
- The H1 and H2 are the most local, running from Applemore through Dibden Purlieu, Buttsash and Langdown to Hythe. Route 9, between Southampton and Langley, Fawley or Calshot, also passes through the village, and there is a night N9 as well. Check the current timetable with the operator before you set off, so you arrive in good time for your appointment.
- Is pitch-side first aid available for matches around Dibden Purlieu?
- Yes. I provide pitch-side and event first aid at fixtures and community events around Hythe and Dibden, subject to availability. For a quote, email mendandmovest@outlook.com and tell me when and where it is and what kind of event you’re running.
- I don’t play sport. Is the clinic still for me?
- Yes. Tension from long hours at a desk, a stiff neck from the drive along the A326 or a knee that aches after walks at Dibden Inclosure are all worth a look. We can start with an injury assessment so we both understand what is going on, and for desk-bound shoulders sports massage is often the first step.
Ready to make a start?
Book online in a couple of minutes, or send me a message if you’d like to talk it through first.