Its western coast is higher, on green cliffs. Bathing, when seas are calm, is favourable as tides are relatively muted for the coast at this point and thin sandbanks are nearby at lower water. The beaches are of varying size shingle, with some inter-tidal sand. From the beach, the Needles of the Isle of Wight are on most days clearly visible. From most of the coast on a clear night, the conurbation of Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole can clearly be seen and the brighter stars; in daytime the view extends in most weather conditions to the white cliffs and further part of the headland beyond of the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in Dorset. At the closer level Milford is on a broad sub-bay (Christchurch Bay), ended by the Bournemouth Bay headland and entrance to the harbour of Christchurch, which thus juts out little from this vantage point, Hengistbury Head, traversed by a regular foot ferry in most seasons.