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Ferry Mid-crossing
Looking along the arcade.All The B's - Beaches, Babes, Buzzy and Busy...
"...But Bloody Boring!"
Bournemouth is the premier summer resort on the Dorset coast and is especially renowned for its seven miles of golden sanded beaches. It's reckoned that on a busy August day the various beaches attract over 100,000 people!
As to accommodation there's cheap family-orientated hotels, upmarket places, camping and pretty much something for everyone.
Outside the summer season Bournemouth is also known for its conference facilites with its International conference centre often hosting the main UK political parties' annual events.
Year round the town centre offers excellent shopping, with a good mix of National and independent stores, and an eclectic variety of restaurants, cafes and bars.
"Wierd Demographics"
Bournemouth has long been considered a retirement town and certain neighbourhoods consist of mainly sheltered apartment complexes. I suppose the main attraction for retirees is the seaside location and there are also the beautifully-tended town centre parks and gardens, which are are great places to stroll. And, as a bonus, the beach promenades are all level.
On the other end of the age-scale it also has a very lively student population, attending not just the University of Bournemouth (the campus of which is actually in next-door Poole) but also foreign students at the many language schools. Thus the town has loads of nightclubs, many of them being open until 5-6 am.
This is why I find it a bit of a boring place, in as much as there isn't really anything geared up for us in the middle. The couple of half-decent pubs are OK but no-one seems to speak to anyone else and if you're sitting at a bar and say "Hi, how are you?" to whoever is next to you, you get funny looks rather than a reply! (Well this is Dorset - Or maybe it's just me!)
