Bournemouth
Is Bournemouth a slightly down-at-heel, slightly unfashionable Victorian resort dreaming of better days—or a distinctly hip and trendy place to go clubbing? Is it part of a nostalgic seaside Englishness or are there simply too many foreign language students around these days? Judging by the happy crowds found on the beach in the height of summer, many people still find Bournemouth a perfect holiday destination.
The location
Bournemouth is one of the two larger towns in Dorset (the other being Poole), though it has juggled back and forth in occasional boundary changes and been part of adjoining Hampshire as well. Much of the town is undistinguished, though some wonderful Victorian buildings have survived the bulldozer. The glorious miles of sandy beach, bracing sea breezes, glorious cliffs walks through avenues of pine trees (known as chines), and safe clean bathing water remain as attractive as ever. Bournemouth's beach is wide open to the English Channel and unsheltered, which gives reliable surfing at Bournemouth's central pier, nearby Boscombe pier and Southbourne, and further along the coast at Highcliffe. A beautiful municipal park in the centre of town, between the shops and the sea, is noted for glorious flower displays. Astonishingly, the park's relatively modern and recently award-winning public toilets are frequently in a disgraceful state and surely put many people off a return visit.
The economy
Bournemouth is a
tourist town and owes its prosperity to the many thousands of
visitors who travel there each year. Clubbing is economically
important too. The town's major employers include JP Morgan
Chase
bank and the Portman Building Society. Many people retire to
Bournemouth, giving the town a slightly sleepy and genteel blue-rinse
feel at times, while the affluent Sandbanks area between Bournemouth
and Poole is famously home to footballers and their wives and
entertainers such as Max Bygraves. Education also earns money for the
town. The students of Bournemouth
University and a large population of
foreign language students contribute to the economy all year round.
Things to do
Countryside
Away from the town centre, Bournemouth is largely
an urban sprawl extending all the way to Poole. But if you're
staying
here and looking for countryside, you can still find it close at hand.
To
the north-east, there are the glories of the
New Forest; to the
south-west, you can find Swanage
and the Isle
of Purbeck. Further
west again you'll find the heart of rural Dorset, including
classic
chocolate box villages like Cerne Abbas. If you like country houses
and gardens, Kingston
Lacy, near Wimborne, is a National Trust
property that you really shouldn't miss. Fishing enthusiasts will find
Hampshire's famous River Avon, around Christchurch and Ringwood, well
worth a visit.
Attractions
Among younger people,
Bournemouth is perhaps best known these days as a clubbing town.
There are apparently 30,000 clubbers to be found wandering around the
streets on a Friday or Saturday night, mainly in the area around
Holdenhurst Road and Old Christchurch Road. If you're older and
prefer a quieter time, and you don't find packs of chaotic
young drunks to your taste, you might not enjoy the town at weekends
after dark.
For families and active holidaymakers, major nearby tourist attractions include Monkey World in Wareham, the Bovington Tank Museum, the Swanage Steam Railway, and Compton Acres, a series of attractive themed gardens on the edge of the town offering stunning views over Poole Harbour. In the centre of Bournemouth you can find The Oceanarium aquarium and the Bournemouth Eye, a tethered balloon that gives spectacular views of the Dorset countryside and coast. Bournemouth has an active gay district based in the area around The Triangle (a three-sided row of Victorian buildings).
Shopping
Bournemouth's central
shopping district is made up almost entirely of anonymous high-street
chain stores such as WH Smith, Boots, and Marks &
Spencer. There are also two large department stores,
Beale's
and Dingles, and there are two reasonable bookshops in the centre of
town—branches of Borders and Waterstone's.
There's an
alternative selection of equally anonymous chain stores at an
out-of-town shopping centre called Castle Point, which
feels a little like an airport and a little like a giant car park, and
is easily reachable by
bus or car from the town centre. For more quirky individual shops,
you have to travel out into the suburbs. Parkstone and Charminster
have vibrant communities of small, interesting, independent shops
appealing to all
budgets and people of all nationalities. The area around Pokesdown on
Christchurch Road is home to a long row of sporadically interesting
antique (and junk) shops. If you like huge mall-type
shops, you'll find central Bournemouth a disappointment; you may find
yourself joining the exodus to Southampton's large central mall West Quay.
Culture
The town has several large cinemas, including an IMAX, and there's also a large out-of-town cinema complex at Poole's Tower Park, which also offers bowling, bingo, a waterpark, and a selection of eating and watering holes. More traditionally, Bournemouth has a slightly down-at-heel, council-run theatre called The Pavilion, where you can find all kinds of live musical events, theatre, and ballet throughout the year. Also run by the council, the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre) is a huge conference venue near the seafront that hosts large music events, trade fairs, and party political conferences. The Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is a quirky Victorian collection on the East Cliff, with free admittance and a small tea shop in a modern extension next door.
Places to stay
Bournemouth has a wide
range of hotels, guest houses, and self-catering accommodation. At
one end of the scale, there are luxurious hotels on the East Cliff
overlooking the sea, such as the Royal Bath, the Marsham Court, and the
Cartlon. Across town, on the West Cliff, there are smaller independent
hotels
and guest houses. The tourist
information centre in the heart of the
town offers an accommodation booking service. If you're visiting
Bournemouth on business, another option is to stay in calm luxury in
the nearby New Forest and travel into town when you need to. The
famously sumptuous Chewton
Glen
hotel is only a short drive from Bournemouth.
Places to eat
There's a huge range of eating places—far too many to list here. Of special mention is a wonderful fish and chip restaurant called Chez Fred in the smart suburb of Westbourne, whose walls are peppered with photos of famous customers. Eating places in cosmopolitan Charminster offer interesting food from around the world. Beale's department store has a surprisingly good restaurant on its top floor, which was refurbished a few years ago.
Getting here
Bournemouth is well
served by road networks , including a major bypass called the Wessex
Way that leads up through the New Forest to the M3 for connections to
the rest of the South East and London. The train station is about a
mile out of town, but is well served by buses to the town centre
throughout the day. Mainline trains go from Bournemouth direct to
London Waterloo and take about 1½ to
two hours. If you're travelling to or from the North, you'll need the
cross-country trains, which run from Bournemouth to Southampton then up
to Reading,
Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. Buses and
coaches run from the centre of town at a turning area called the
Triangle, which is also the heart of Bournemouth's gay
district.
Most of the urban buses in the immediate Bournemouth area are run by
Yellow Bus; Wilts & Dorset runs services to nearby towns such as
Poole, Salisbury, Wimborne, and Swanage. Bournemouth Airport is
just to the north-west of the town and Southampton Airport is
about half an hour away on the train or by car are both conveniently
nearby.
Map
Here's a map of Bournemouth from Google Images. You can use the "Find businesses" tab and search box to find local businesses, places to stay, and so on.More information
- Bournemouth Tourist Guide: The official tourist information guide to Bournemouth accommodation, eating places, events, and more.
- Holiday in Bournemouth: "A free holiday service on what you can see when you visit Bournemouth and the surrounding areas in Dorset."
- Bournemouth Tourism: Another guide to Bournemouth accommodation, family attractions, and entertainments.
