Shopping

Bournemouth Town Centre. "Bournemouth Town Centre is rapidly growing with more and more shops and boutiques opening throughout the pedestriansed shopping precinct. The spiritual and relaxing courtyards and enclaves, swathes of gardens with benches make it a pleasurable shopping experience if you’re ready to shop ‘til you drop."

Brand named shops such as Zara, Karen Millen and H&M have all opened their doors to the public recently and we can expect more top names coming soon. The Avenue Shopping Centre has many shops to choose from and leads into a large Marks and Spencer – soon to be the first ‘green’ M&S! Beales is one of our distinguished department stores which started its history as a shop in Bournemouth 125 year ago.

Westover Road, affectionately known as the ‘Bond Street of Bournemouth, has a selection of quirky boutiques nestled beside each other, along a stylish tree-lined boulevard.

There are lots of places to rest weary legs and arms laden with bags of shopping. Lunch choices are limitless, from cafes to restaurants, brand franchises, fit for every taste and wallet!

Westbourne. Westbourne is probably one of the most elegant parts of Bournemouth with a fascinating selection of boutiques, quirky gift shops, interior design shops and patisseries and restaurants. Stroll through the Victorian arcade and look up to see the 22 gargoyles grinning down at you. These were placed here by the designer of the arcade in 1884.

It’s worth spending at least half a day strolling through Westbourne, stopping for lunch or a coffee at places like Basilica or the Waffles Clay Cafe.

Castlepoint. For the out-of-town experience, take a trip to Castlepoint – a multi-million pound sopping centre three miles from Bournemouth town centre. With lots of favourite brand name stores, there’s also masses of free parking.

Boscombe. Another great shopping experience can be found in Boscombe. Boscombe has a unique ambience and character that has grown over the last 100 years. It can be seen in the architecture of the fine buildings in the pedestrian precinct and the guest houses. If you’re an antiques collector then you will be spoilt for choice as bric-a-brac and antique shops nestle beside each other on a long stretch of road. You never know what hidden gem you might find! 
 

Gardens

"It takes a regiment of gardeners to plant the 280,000 summer bedding plants in Bournemouth gardens, water the 300 ornamental flower pedestals and tend the 30 flower filled roundabouts – each one created as a garden in miniature. "

Meyrick Park has many sporting activities there including an 18-hole golf course and outdoor bowls green accommodating International Bowling Tournaments.

The Upper and Central and Lower Gardens are maybe the most famous and retain much of their Victorian character and are Listed Grade II. You can take a beautiful walk from the seafront through these gardens for 1.5 miles and take in the many trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials from around the world, planted to provide interest throughout the year. The Lower Gardens are renowned for they’re floral bedding displays throughout the year, which are designed to bring together brilliant colours, subtle textures, height variations and scent.

Alum Chine boasts an award winning tropical garden, which was laid out with paths borders and dry stonewalls in the 1920’s to create a terrace garden overlooking the bay. There are now many unusual exotic plants in the gardens for people to discover.

Boscombe Gardens has recently been restored with a £2million project bringing the gardens back to the best of its Victorian past. The Italianate Gardens at Boscombe really are a secret hideaway and a beautiful setting next to the sea.

Pinewalk in the Lower Gardens– originally referred to as ‘Invalids Walk’ by the Victorians when the aroma from the pine trees was considered beneficial for chest complaints.

Just adjacent to this is the rock garden, constructed in 1930 it is one of the largest Municipal rock gardens in the country. Based upon a series of terraces, planting pockets have been created to enable alpine and rock plants from around the world to be grown.

Historic Bournemouth

Click HERE for a link for excellent resources regarding the history of Bournemouth.

Eating Out

You may decide to extend your ladies festival break and during these extra days you might want to venture out from the venue and visit a local restaurant or two. If you do you will not be disappointed.

"Bournemouth is renowned for its superb choice of restaurants, pubs, cafés and bistros, with dishes that will tempt the most discerning connoisseur. Whether you want to relax over a steaming hot cappuccino, enjoy a light lunch in a friendly café, have fun family feast or indulge your senses with a sophisticated fine dining experience, Bournemouth has a menu for every occasion."

Cuisine from every corner of the world including French, Mexican, American, Italian, Spanish, Bangladeshi, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Greek, Chinese, Brazilian and Indian can be enjoyed at our many restaurants and cafés. Not forgetting British fare at the seafood and fish and chip restaurants, family friendly pubs and vegetarian restaurants to complete the eating out experience.

Click HERE for a list of local restaurants.

Sports & Leisure

Whatever the weather, there are award-winning sport and leisure facilities in Bournemouth for the whole family to enjoy.

Click HERE for details of some local facilities.

The text is by virtue of the excellent Bournemouth Tourist Website www.bournemouth.co.uk