I am thinking about visiting Bournemouth, UK. Have you been there? What is there to see and do?
Posted by
London, UK
356 posts
I am not sure I would go out of my way to go there to be honest. It's just a seaside town popular with old folks. The town is okay, but nothing special and a lot of the attractions can be found in any seaside town.
If you are nearby anyway you could certainly have a pleasant day strolling around the gardens and having a paddle in the sea, but I wouldn't travel miles to go there. I can think of other southern seaside towns which I would much rather go to.
The one highlight for me is the wonderful Russell Cotes museum/gallery though: http://russell-cotes.bournemouth.gov.uk/
Posted by
Boscombe, Dorset, UK
964 posts
Hi Cathy, I live in Bournemouth! (Boscombe is part of Bournemouth).
It is a lovely seaside area- it used to be a retirement town but in the last 10 years there has been a big push to attract younger people. Consequently there are a lot of bars and clubs.
There's a free open air art exhibition in the gardens every year from May to September. The Russell Cotes museum is great. Poole (which is all the same urbanisation) is the second biggest natural harbour in the world, with a lovely spot called Brownsea Island to catch the boat to in the summer.
Bournemouth is a good center if you want to visit places like Christchurch, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Winchester, Weymouth, the New Forest and Lymington. There's a ferry from Lymington to the Isle of Wight. Bournemouth has lots of hotels and B&B's, restaurants and bars.
All the places I've mentioned are definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.
You're welcome to send me a private message if you want to ask anything.
If you want to see some photos of the area, I have a couple of the beach on my blog, www.maggiesmagicpantry.blogspot.com
Best wishes, Maggie
Posted by
Nice, France
108 posts
Yes Bournemouth is really well situated as a base for discovering places like Christchurch, the New Forest (magic place!) and Winchester (my favorite one because I used to live there!). I haven't been to Bournemouth for a long time but what I heard confirms what you've been told here: it has changed over the past decade to become a much more dynamic place. The sea side is lovely anyway and Dorset is beautiful so I'd definitely recommend a coastal walk.