Bournemouth

In 1998, Harpers & Queen magazine predicted that Bournemouth was on its way to becoming the ‘coolest city on the planet’ and another dubbed the town ‘Britain’s Baywatch’, a reference to the comely young lifeguards who patrol the 7 miles of golden beaches.’ There are certainly plenty of nightclubs, as well as a huge range of hotels, shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, especially in the Triangle area. The town is also home to the world-renowned Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In July 2005, in the hope of attracting more of Britain’s 250,000 surfers to the town, Bournemouth council announced the construction of Europe’s first artificial reef, made up of 55 giant sandbags and capable of producing breakers up to 16ft-high, and this was duly opened in 2009. Unfortunately in March 2011 it was closed owing to safety issues, with surfers remarking it made ‘the wrong sort of waves’. Its future remains uncertain.

Already, some 5.5 million visitors each year are attracted to this cosmopolitan town which has been voted the greenest and cleanest resort in the UK – there are more than 2000 acres of Victorian parks and gardens, and the town centre streets are washed and scrubbed every morning. Despite the recession Bournemouth remains a popular destination.

Two hundred years ago, the tiny village of Bourne was a mere satellite of the bustling port of Poole, a few miles to the west. The empty coastline was ideal for smugglers and Revenue  men were regularly posted here to patrol the area. One of them, Louis Tregonwell, was enchanted by Bourne’s glorious setting at the head of three deep valleys, or chines. He and his wife bought land here, built themselves a house and planted the valleys with the pines that give the present-day town its distinctive appearance. Throughout Victorian times, Bournemouth, as it became known, grew steadily and the prosperous new residents beautified their adopted town with wide boulevards, grand parks, and public buildings, creating a Garden City by the Sea.

They also built a splendid Pier (1855), the work of the peerless Eugenius Birch, the most famous of the pier designers. Born in 1818, Birch was an artist and mechanic who worked on bridges and railways in the UK and India before turning skills to the classic English pier.  St Peter’s Church is much visited for its superb carved alabaster by Thomas Earp, and the tomb in which Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, is buried along with the heart of her poet-husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Bournemouth’s premier museum is the clifftop Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, based on the collection of the globe-trotting Sir Merton Russell-Cotes and his wife Lady Annie,

The Oceanarium, located alongside the Pier, explores the wonders of the natural world beneath the surface of seas, lakes and rivers. Displays include life under the Amazon, the Florida Keys and the Great Barrier Reef. New for 2011 is the Otter Oasis, an especially designed environment for two Oriental small-clawed otters..

And if you’re looking for a novel experience, and a really spectacular aerial view of the town and coastline, Bournemouth Balloon, in the Lower Gardens near the pier, offers day or night ascents in a tethered balloon, which rises up to 500 feet.

Out of town, 7 miles north at Hurn, and opposite Bournemouth International Airport, are two attractions. The Bournemouth Aviation Museum is home to a collection of vintage aircraft – including a Vulcan bomber and a Hawker Hunter – which are flown on a regular basis. Nearby, set in 7 acres of landscaped grounds, is Adventure Wonderland. One of the most popular attractions in Dorset, this family theme park, based around the theme of Alice in Wonderland, offers outside rides and an indoor adventure play centre. All the thrills of speedy rides such as Wild Bill’s Runaway Train to more gentle rides such as Curvy Caterpillar, plus Animal Cuddle Corner where children can get close to furry creatures. And don’t miss the south’s largest natural hedge maze.