About Bournemouth

A Brief History
In 1810 a man named Tregonwell visited the beach with his wife, fell in love with the area, promptly bought land and built a house. It is true to say that Tregonwell was the first inhabitant of what later became Bournemouth.
At the end of the 18th century spending time at the seaside became very popular among the rich and middle classes and so, in 1836, Sir George Tapps-Gervis decided to create a seaside resort at Bournemouth. Sir George died in 1842 but the building of the resort at Bournemouth went on.
The railway was a welcome addition in 1870, making it far easier to reach Bournemouth and so increasing the number of visitors. Society flocked to the newly planted pine forest landscape, eager to sample the relaxing ambience of the town, breathe its healthy air, bathe in the pure seawater and unwind at leisure. At the time, the aroma of the pine trees was considered to be very good for you. Many a famous person visited to take advantage, including JRR Tolkien and DH Lawrence.

With this increase in demand, the town grew at a fast rate, with building and landscaping continuing apace. The Winter Gardens and Pleasure Gardens were laid out as long ago as the 1870s and The Theatre Royal was built in 1882.
Since then, Bournemouth has grown into a thriving seaside resort, although the rise of the service industries in Bournemouth, such as finance, building societies, insurance, conferences and entertainment are now an equally important part of the local economy.

The pine trees remain and visitors can still meander through ‘Pine Walk’ in Bournemouth Gardens to breathe the healthy air.

Bournemouth Today
Today, Bournemouth is a vibrant, cosmopolitan town with seven miles of golden sands, award winning gardens, beautiful countryside and excellent ‘green’ credentials. Its vast variety of shops and restaurants, the acclaimed New Forest literally on the doorstep and with water sports galore on offer, Bournemouth has something to suit every taste.

Bournemouth is a town that never sits on its laurels and as a result continues to receive awards and regeneration investment. And now it has also landed a first for the northern hemisphere – the construction of the first artificial surf reef in Europe, which is due to be completed in 2009.

The UK’s Best Resort
In 2008, Bournemouth won the “Best UK Resort” award at the Group Leisure Awards, beating stiff competition, including Blackpool and Brighton, proving how popular Bournemouth is and how much it has to offer. 

It’s official - Bournemouth is the greenest town in the South!
In 2008/09, 10 of Bournemouth’s parks and green spaces retained their prestigious Green Flag Award status.

Bournemouth is also blue!
This is not an indication of political bias, rather proof of the quality of the area’s coast. Blue Flag is a prestigious international award scheme, which acts as a guarantee to tourists that a beach they are visiting is one of the best in the world.  Running across Europe, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA, Blue Flags are only awarded to coastal destinations that have achieved the highest quality in water, facilities, safety, environmental education and management.  In 2008, Blue Flag awards were awarded to Alum Chine Beach, Durley Chine Beach, Fisherman’s Walk and Southbourne Beach.

In addition, Bournemouth Pier was awarded a Quality Coast Award in 2008.

A First for Europe
This is a huge coup for Bournemouth.  Europe’s first artificial surf reef is is now open  in Boscom

The reef will improve the quality of the surf and increase the number of good surf days, drawing more visitors to the area and enhancing the water sports on offer, which include kite-surfing, windsurfing, wake-boarding, kayaking, SCUBA-diving, sailing and skim-boarding. 

Regeneration
Introducing the surf reef at Boscombe is only one part of a huge regeneration project.

The “Boscombe Spa Village” is an exciting £10 million seafront regeneration scheme, at the heart of which will be the reinvented Overstrand building, housing 59 ‘surf pods’ or new-age styled beach huts. In addition, the grade-II listed Boscombe Pier has been completely refurbished, with the addition of a piazza in front of the pier entrance. Opposite the Pier, the Green Flag award winning Boscombe Chine gardens have been completely overhauled, bringing the whole area into the 21st Century.

Making the most of your stay
Bournemouth is wonderfully situated as a base for exploration. To the west, the World Heritage Jurassic coast offers breathtaking cliff formations and rugged scenery that amply reward the efforts of an invigorating walk or cycle. Similarly absorbing is the serene New Forest, where you can wander among grazing ponies and stop for a Dorset cream tea. Inland, the chocolate box cottages dotted throughout picturesque villages are simply stunning and a world away from the bustle of everyday life.