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Bournemouth - England's Finest Seaside Resort

By Tony Payne

WHERE IS BOURNEMOUTH

Bournemouth is a seaside resort in the county of Dorset which is in the middle of the South Coast of England.

The town is conveniently situated less than 2 hours drive from London or from most parts of the South Coast or the Midlands.

ABOUT BOURNEMOUTH

Bournemouth is named for it's location at the mouth of the Bourne stream, which flows into the English Channel through what are now the Pleasure Gardens.

The town grew up in the Victorian era, when going to the seaside to take in the fresh air and to bathe became popular. A lot of it's heritage dates back to those times, the Pleasure Gardens and Promenade, as well as the Clifftop paths for walking.

Unlike many seaside resorts where the beaches are made of course sand or stones, Bournemouth has seven miles of wonderful beaches made of golden sand, most of which is backed by a Promenade, and towering sandstone cliffs. Along parts of the promenade you will find beach-huts, which can be rented by visitors. These are handy for storing your posessions while you are at the beach and also for changing, so every time you go to the beach you don't need to bring along beach chairs, childrens toys and the kitchen sink etc.

The main pier, another victorian attraction which is common to many British seaside resorts, is in the central part of town, where the Pleasure Gardens meet the sea, and where the East Cliff and the West Cliff divide. There is another pier several miles further east at Boscombe, the two being joined by the promenade and of course the beach.

THE CHINES

Along the West Cliff there are a number of Chines, which are a feature unique to this area. These are old river valleys, forming gaps in the cliffs through which pathways and in some cases roads have been built down to the beach.

Other than these, the only way down the cliff (well safe way) is to use the Zig-Zag paths, which twist and turn down the cliff and make for a good walk, or the Cliff Lifts, which are pairs of railroad tracks going straight up the cliff with two lifts to take passengers up and down.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Other than the beach and the gardens, the area has a lot to offer the tourist.

There are boat excursions across to the nearby Isle of Wight, to Poole and Brownsea Island, and of course the famous Sandbanks peninsula is just a few miles to the west.

Poole Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world, after Sydney in Australia, and offers many attractions for the tourist.

Brownsea Island is the largest island in Poole Harbour and was the site of the first Boy Scout Camp in the early 1900's. This is a national Trust property and with it's wildlife, nature walks, and castle that faces the harbour entrance it is a great place to spend a day.

Sandbanks is one of the four most expensive places to live in the world, and is regarded as Britain's equivalent of Malibu. As well as having more great beaches, there are many fancy homes that belong to wealthy people and celebrities.

At the end of Sandbanks, which marks the southern entrance to Poole Harbour, there is a Car Ferry which takes foot passengers and cars across to the other side of the harbour and Studland in the Purbeck Hills. Here you will find the quaint seaside town of Swanage as well as rolling hills, limestone cliffs and the ruins of Corfe Castle which was destroyed in the English Civil War.

To the east of Bournemouth you will find The New Forest, another National park that was created by William The Conqueror in the 11th century.

This is just a sampling of the things you will find in and around Bournemouth. Please click on the attached links for more details on this wonderful tourist destination including both historic and modern photos as well as video clips.

19th November 2008 - This page on Bournemouth received the highly coveted Lens Of The Day award on Squidoo. This is quite an achievement, since Squidoo has over 500,000 active lenses.

If you enjoy surfing - an artificial Surf Reef opened in Boscombe late in 2009, the first in the UK, and this is expected to attract many surfers to the area.

Contributor's Note

Most American tourists to the UK have never heard of this part of the English Coast, so I hope that for any Americans or other non-English people who read this article, it will help spark their interest to visit one day.

I remember visiting Bournemouth when I went to England in '95. What a long trip from Australia!

coaster Jun 19, 2008 08:35

Great job. It's good to see someone writing about something other than London or the usual tourist traps of the UK. Being a Brit living abroad, originally from South London, I know that the UK is so much more than the 'rip-off' capital and the south coast & the South West of England have some of the best things to see.

Incidentally, When my Mum died in 2005, we had a tree planted for her and her ashes scattered in the New Forest.

I'm from Southbourne, so it was a bit of a (pleasant) surprise to see this here. Nice article.

lakeville Jun 23, 2008 10:20

Well done Poddys. I know the area fairly well having lived there for 18 months. One of the most spectatcular views of Poole Harbour is from the gorse covered "uplands" at Corfe Mullen, a few miles to the north.

AJ Sep 5, 2008 04:17

AJ Sep 5, 2008 04:25

Great intel here! When you said "car ferry" did you mean the Chain Ferry that goes across from Poole to Purbeck? We went over on it a number of years back, and we loved it! We were wondering if it was still in operation.

Robert Paterson Sep 5, 2008 08:59

Didn`t the DJ Tony Blackburn live in Bournemouth for a while? I`m from the north of England so never really got to go down south too often. Been to the south east (Norwich area) and south west (Cornwall) but never to Bournemouth. One day perhaps...

Yes he did. Tony grew up there with his family, actually on the outskirts of Poole in a village called Lilliput - and in the next road to where I grew up!

I saw that - I was in the USA at the time, but used to check the London news sites to keep up with events back home.

I created a page on Squidoo about Bournemouth (which prompted me to write this Intel - http://www.squidoo.com/bournemouth) and while researching this I was surprised at just how many famous people had connections with Bournemouth.

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