Discover Bournemouth, Dorset

Bournemouth Beach, Bournemouth, England: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bournemouth_Beach.JPG
Author: Robert Courtman


Bournemouth is a coastal resort town in Dorset, England. It covers 46.18 sq km (17.8 sq mi) and has a population of 170,000 people (2012 estimate), making it the biggest town in Dorset as well as the biggest coastal town between Southampton and Plymouth. It forms an urban area that includes Poole and Christchurch, and has a total population of 400,000 people.

Bournemouth, England: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bournemouth,_a_sunny_Christmas_Day_stroll_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1632575.jpg
Author: Chris Downer


Bournemouth is contiguous with Poole in the west and Christchurch in the east. Other neighboring towns include Wimborne to the north west and Ferndown to the north east. Although Bournemouth stretches all the way to the coast, its town center, called The Square, is located inland.

Due to the presence of Bournemouth University, Bournemouth has seen tremendous growth in recent years. The town is characterized by the presence of students as well as retirees, as it is also a popular town for British people to retire.

Bournemouth was founded in 1812, when retired army officer Lewis Tregonwell and his wife decided to make it their retirement home. They bought land there, and created a settlement which by the time Tregonwell passed away twenty years later, had grown into a small community.

Bournemouth Town Hall: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bournemouth_town_hall.jpg
Author: Graffity


Richmond Hill Church, Bournemouth: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bournemouth_Richmond_Hill_church.jpg
Author: Graffity


The arrival of Sir George William Tapps-Gervis in 1835 transformed Bournemouth from a quiet seaside village to a coastal resort similar to Weymouth and Brighton. It was given town status in 1870. Today Bournemouth remains a popular destination for local tourists, with an increasing number of visitors from the Europe mainland and North America.

Visiting Bournemouth

Coming from London, take the M3 motorway until Eastleigh, then continue on the M27 followed by the A31. At Ringwood, exit the A31 and head south on the A338 to reach Bournemouth.

Places of Interest in Bournemouth

World Heritage Site in the vicinity

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.