It is a fairly new town and during the last century has grown along the shoreline of Poole Bay and now with Poole and Christchurch covers a fourteen mile wide area which includes Boscombe, Southbourne, Westbourne and a couple of other 'villages' which have now become a suburb of Bournemouth and have all equally prospered since years before this part of the county was just a collection of houses on the coast.

During the summer months it is a challenge to find an empty space on the beach as the climate is mild here and as the beach is sandy with facilities near at hand it is a popular holiday resort with hotels all around from large four star ones to tiny bed and breakfast establishments one would normally associate with a seaside town. It also has the Bournemouth Conference Centre where political parties hold their annual meetings and concerts are held as well as sporting events.

The entrance to the pier has now been complete pedestrianised and the road now goes over the top and one can walk under to the pleasure gardens and the famous Pavilion Theatre. The town has everything that the visit would want, from museums and art galleries to ice skating, good restaurants and a splendid shopping area.

The New Forest is just a few minutes away and the lovely countryside of Dorset is but only a short distance from the town centre.

The Seafront at Bournemouth with Boscombe pier in the distance
(Photo kindly contributed by William Grierson, Aberdeen)

To the east lies what was once an Iron Age port, Hengistbury Head and it was still occupied when the Romans came and there has been quite a few relics found here including coins of the Celtic Dorotiges tribe. Recent discoveries have linked the area with wine that was shipped here in the first century BC from Italy via Gaul. Today the area is a wildlife conservation area.