A few days in Bournemouth

As you may have seen from my April favourites, my boyfriend and I recently took a little trip down to Bournemouth during the Easter holidays. Neither of us had been to Bournemouth – not for many years for me at least – so it was a really nice chance for us to explore somewhere new together. I’ve been wanting to share a lot more travel posts this year as we can travel a lot more than the last 2 years, so I thought I’d put together a little post about our trip and what we got up to in case anyone else is planning a trip to Bournemouth.

If you’re not aware, Bournemouth is a seaside town along the South coast of the UK. It is around 80 miles from Taunton where we live so only a couple hours drive down, and the roads are pretty nice on the way! Lots of scenic roads and some great views of the country. We stayed in a lovely little AirBnB, which I’ll tell you more about later. This was based in an area called Parkstone which is just outside of Poole and about 20 minute drive from where we parked in Bournemouth.

Day 1

On the first day we started our journey down. We decided to go via Poole and see what the town had to offer. First stop was Dolphin shopping centre where we had a mooch around the shops, then went down into the town. We saw the original Lush store in the old part of town and then continued down to the Quay. We ended up having a drink in the ‘Spoons down on the front, and as it was a lovely day we sat and watched some of the boats coming and going. We didn’t go too far down into the Quay as it was quite a walk back up to the carpark and we were starting to ache. Poole was a lovely little town to walk through and the quay was a nice place to walk around especially on a sunny day. I will admit the big boat factories down there were a bit of an eyesore though!

Day 2

On our second day we went down into Bournemouth to explore. First of all we had a little look around some of the shops and then made our way towards the beach via the gardens. The sun was shining and the gardens looked absolutely beautiful. It was lovely to see people out and about enjoying nature, and we even passed a group of women doing some kind of zumba on the grass. The gardens had a really lovely atmosphere and I was really impressed to see how clean and neat it was. Not a single bit of rubbish on the floor, no overflowing bins and all of the flower displays were immaculate. Even the little stream running through it was clear as anything – if that were the town I live in I can guarantee it would be full of muck.

We carried on down to the beach and walked along it for quite some time. On the walk we noticed some goats up in the shrubbery on the cliff which was bazar. It’s not something you normally see in this country. I later researched it and it made sense, but at the time we were like ‘what is going on’. The beach stretches on for miles so after a while turned around and walked back for some lunch. We decided on Prezzo for lunch which was delicious, then we had another little walk round and headed back to where we were staying.

Day 3

Saturday was more of a jam packed day for us. We started off in a retail park that we’d passed on the way into Bournemouth, and we had a little look around some of the shops there (Home Bargains, Next). We then went back into Bournemouth for the day, as the weather was really nice. We sat on the beach for a little while, went on the big wheel and then went to Aruba for a cocktail. This is a really lovely bar with fab views over the beach. It was a little pricey, but the quality and look of the cocktails and classiness of the place is what you pay for. You could get a cheap cocktail from a ‘Spoons but it’s just not the same.

We had a Harry Ramsdens fish and chips for lunch, which was takeaway only as they are renovating the restaurant. We decided to take it up to the gardens because the amount of seagulls on the beach was insane – as it usually is at the beach! I have to admit this was one of the nicest fish and chips I’ve ever had, and the portion size was spot on. After this we had a quick round of crazy golf in the gardens. If there’s one thing I can’t resist is crazy golf!

We sat on the beach the rest of the afternoon watching stag do groups causing havoc as they do. One group were playing rounders on the beach which was entertaining. After an hour or so we decided to head back to the car. Football was on that evening so we found a lovely pub called Sweet Home Inn just around the corner to where we were staying which had a huge beer garden and outdoor bar. It was a lovely evening weather-wise (can’t say the same for the football result).

Day 4

On the last day we decided to head straight home. May sound silly but as it was our first time leaving our Cat on her own we wanted to make sure she was ok. We ended up having a nice catch up with my parents – who were on Layla and Reggie feeding duty – and then a BBQ in the evening.

About the Airbnb

The Little Cabin is based within a lovely area of Parkstone, about a 15-20 minute drive from Bournemouth. It is a newly furbished self contained small annex attached to the side of the main house. Upon arrival, one of the things I noticed was how clean it was. Not a crumb in sight or anything out of place. It contained a small kitchenette with a separate bathroom and bedroom, and was the perfect size for the two of us. I really enjoyed my stay there and will definitely rebook in the future.

Until next time

XOX