2 - 3 Days in Bournemouth

[JuneWhitfieldsHandbag]

Off to Bournemouth next week for a couple of days, hoping for dry weather. Never been to that part of England and DH pours scorn on British tourist/beach towns. (He's forrin and from a beautiful Mediterranean coastal town) I want to prove to him that while we can't guarantee the weather, we can offer lovely places to holiday in this country. OK maybe that's a bit ambitious however I am looking for ideas/recommendations of what we could do, places to visit, good fish restaurants - if anyone can help?

I quite fancy a nose around Sandbanks... is it best to drive there, can you get out and properly ogle the properties, or do,we just have to do a drive by with noses squished up to car windows?

Is Poole worth a visit? I understand it has a nice harbour - thinking maybe lunch there?

And of course no visit to the coast is complete without a brisk walk on the beach (assuming autumnal weather) but the beach looks vast.....

Finally we are big seafood fans, any excellent fish restaurant recommendations would be appreciated.

Any other hints and tips (please don't tell me I've booked the worst place to go.... it's booked already and non-refundable )

I'm in Bournemouth! Best way to see Sandbanks is to drive through then get the chain ferry across to Swanage, lovely for a day out, or you if don't want to spend the day there you can come on the next one
Poole is nice, lots of places to eat along the quay and it's a nice place to look around.
You can also get a little ferry across to Brownsea island, where the red squirrels live!
The new forest is also lovely if you fancy a day trip.
The beaches are nice, you can walk through the gardens to get to Bournemouth pier, again lots of places to eat.
Plenty to do, you'll have a great time

Also if you fancy a long stroll along the Beach you can walk from Bournemouth to Boscombe, about 1.5 miles and there is a lush place to eat called Urban Reef, just past Boscombe pier, love it there!

I'm in Bournemouth next week too! 😁 Running the marathon 😬

Good luck with marathon! I'm doing one of the runs on Saturday 😬

Hengistbury head is one of my favourite places in the world, explore then enjoy lunch at the cafe 🙂

A drive out to Christchurch and Mudeford is lovely, buy some fish and chips to eat at Mudeford. Enjoy!

Any chance you could drive east to the New Forest, about 35 minutes? It is unique and lots of people from Mediterranean countries love it with all the horses and ponies and baby animals wandering over our roads. Beaulieu is fab for that with a terrific pub, lovely scenery, cute shops and a brilliant transport museum if he's into that sort of thing. Drive around the New Forest, go back via Avon Beach and the Noisy Lobster which is a fab restaurant right on one of the regions nicest beaches.

I second getting the Sandbanks ferry across and then driving up to Corfe Castle and back via Studlands beach with its fab National Trust cafe.

On a day like it was here today, the area is stunning and you don't have to do the British seaside resort stuff.

Fish restaurants - Rick Stein at Sandbanks, or over the ferry to Studland you've got Shell Bay which has lovely views.

There's also West Bay/Beach in Bournemouth but I haven't been there for years (hence not remembering the name!).

Poole is nice enough but nothing special (I can say that as I used to live there!) but Studland and Brownsea Island are lovely and just a short hop on a ferry.

Definitely sandbanks ferry!

Definitely choose Shell Bay over Rick Stein's for a fish meal.

Make sure you have plenty of petrol and food and drinks kept in the car as the roadworks on so many main routes at the moment is causing some mega gridlock.

Was coming on here to say Hengistbury Head but a PP beat me, you can get a good walk in here, either around the head on the beach, over the head or take the harbour path. You will get to see the beach huts which go for an extortionate amount, there’s a nice upmarket cafe, and if you get a clear day the view over the harbour is breath taking. It’s one of my favourite places and one day if I win the lottery I will buy a beach hut, rather then a place abroad.

I am with Shadow Hengisbury Head is one of my favourite beaches.

Oh yes the road into Bournemouth is a nightmare, look for a route through the New Forest, Highcliffe, Christchurch, you will see Bournemouth signs from here.

Noisey Lobster is great! Might still be closed next week though for their refurb

Take him in an amazing coastal walk - Seacombe, Dancing Ledges etc. The coastline around there is stunning.

Terroir Tapas, Larderhouse, Chez Fred (Fish & chips), Dilli Haat, cotea, Patisserie Mark Bennett and renoufs are my favourite places to eat in Bournemouth area.
For drinks Ginjams, Neo, the library at Larderhouse or Level8 at Hilton are great.

Avoid the A338 lie the plague currently.

I visited a few Spanish beaches this summer, and I really appreciated the fine, softer sand of Bournemouth when I got back. It really is a good beach, whichever bit of its 7 miles of golden sands you're on.

Wow thanks all, some fantastic suggestions.
So I think we will definitely do the chain ferry across from Sandbanks - the Shell Bay looks perfect for lunch. And maybe a mooch up to Poole after for a walk round.
Hengistbury looks fab. I'm assuming we drive and park in the big car park (thanks google maps) and then take our pick of walks out to the head? Looking at the map it looks like you can do a circular one, out along the coastline and back through the middle?
Good shout about coming down and going back via New Forest. Was thinking we could grab lunch in one of the villages on the way down.
Thanks once again for all the suggestions, it's been a real help.

Hengistbury head is one of my favourite places in the world, explore then enjoy lunch at the cafe

Do they still have the Noddy Train at HH? I remember it from my childhood in the 80s.

Love Bournemouth!

Dancergirl yes it’s still there 🙂

Love that area, so much to see!

Brown sea island.
New forest.
Jurassic coast.
The chain ferry.
Sandbanks.
Swanange and a walk out to old harry’s Rocks
Poole is nice. Love the splash down water park there but ou don’t mention children. I like t as an adult!

Oh yes corfe castle is good too.

Just to say thanks to all who contributed. We have just got back from a fab few days in Bournemouth. We took the chain ferry across from Sandbanks and had a spot of lunch in Shell Bay as suggested @captainprincess and @diamantegal and had a lovely walk along the beach there.
We also headed out walked all along the Hengistbury Head both yesterday and today, and we loved it so much - think we're going to sell the house, buy a little beach hut there and take ourselves and dog to live there (just the small problem of the DC to offload somewhere...but they're teenagers so I'm sure they'll survive )
The weather was amazing so we were able to sit on the beach for a few hours, and we also had a mooch through the gardens. We ate at The Crab by the Park Hotel, and have to say the seafood was top drawer - why don't oysters always taste as good!
What a lovely place Bournemouth is, we will definitely return - oh and to top it off we came back via the New Forest and DH was amazed by the ponies wandering in the road at Brockenhurst.
Thanks once again one and all for your helpful suggestions

Great news, glad you had a lovely time.
I am lucky living here, got the beach and the forest on my doorstep