Antique Golf Flask
Bournemouth Attractions – Fun Things to Do by Lek Boonlert
Whatever the weather, a holiday in the Dorset coastal resort of Bournemouth offers a great selection of activities, attractions and things to do. From indoor and outdoor sports, visits to museums, art galleries, open-air and covered markets and antiques shops, live entertainment and cultural events to everyone’s favourite seaside activity, swimming and sunbathing, activities here vary from traditional to modern.
The town’s miles of spectacular beaches have been its main attraction for over 100 years from its beginnings as a fashionable spa town for wealthy Londoners during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Historic photos show bathing huts where swimmers changed from voluminous clothing to equally voluminous swimming costumes. Nowadays, the traditional beach huts are still for hire, giving beach-lovers privacy to change into today’s skimpy beach wear as well as providing a refuge from summer showers.
A bracing stroll by the ocean was a favourite health-giving activity in the early days of the resort’s popularity – and still is today. The Pier to Pier Walk along the promenade from Boscombe Pier to Bournemouth Pier is a popular route, with cafes along the way offering coffee and cake as well as great sea views. Bournemouth is famous for its gardens and parks, with walking tours guided by experts in the region’s birds, insects, flowers and animals.
Restaurants, cafes and hotels in Bournemouth City Centre and elsewhere offer another traditional holiday delight – the English high tea. Cucumber sandwiches, scones with ham and clotted cream, cakes and a delicious pot of English tea are the perfect way to relax after a day spent shopping in the malls and markets or exploring the town’s historic buildings. Another option is to pack a picnic complete with a flask of hot tea and feast in the gardens or glorious countryside.
Taking time off for exercise fun at dance classes or gyms and trying new sports either in or out of the water is easy here, with everything from a surf school and body-boarding classes on the beach to tennis courts, bowling greens and golf courses in and around town. For families, the Littledown Centre provides fun flumes for kids and a babies’ pool, with a full-size adult pool and a gym with modern equipment and many classes. Just turn up and get healthy!
Top -class entertainment across all styles of music and dance from classical to pop, rock, musicals, kids’ shows, ice shows and ice skating as well as theatrical performances is on offer at the Pavilion Theatre and the Bournemouth International Centre’s theatre. There’s something for everyone, including the traditional Pier shows and Christmas pantomimes. For active participation, the new Pavilion Dance Centre holds 40 classes every week in all dance styles, offering professional tuition and a lot of fun.
For more family fun, the town’s Oceanarium is much more than just an aquarium, with themed exhibits including the Amazon, Africa and the Ganges and the Otter Oasis, arranged so that even the smallest visitor can get up close to the fascinating marine life of the regions. The Interactive Dive Cage is unique to the attraction, and the tunnel under the Great Barrier Reef exhibit shows massive green sea turtles and multicoloured reef denizens.
Another unique theme is The Abyss, dedicated to the creatures dwelling in the perpetual darkness of the ocean’s vast depths, not needing light to sustain their glowing bodies in the icy temperatures and immense pressures of their environment.
Even the possible effects of global warming are displayed at the Oceanarium in its topical new section, Global Meltdown. The scenario of total ice cap melt and the flooding of the world’s major coastal cities and islands is explored via ‘London Underwater’ and other disaster visuals perhaps more though-provoking than fun, but brilliantly presented.
About the Author
Lek Boonlert is an editor and content reviewer at DirectRooms and is responsible for all Bournemouth City Centre Hotels content.
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