Did You Know?

The settlement of Bournemouth was founded in 1810 by Lewis Tregonwell, a captain in the Dorset Yeomanry. He built a house near Bourne Heath and then purchased eight and a half acres of land for just over £179. 

To complement all that sunshine, Bournemouth is awash with yummy ice cream: 2,000 ice creams a day are served in the city, adding up to 750,000 ice creams sold each year.

It may be famous for it’s long and beautiful beach, but did you know that the Bournemouth Piers are just as famous? There are two of them but we’ll focus on the Boscombe Pier. It was built in 1889 and just after its renovation in 2009, was declared Britain’s Coolest Pier

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, frequently traveled to Bournemouth and eventually moved there. When he visited, he always stayed at Hotel Miramar in what is now room 205. Dr. Jane Goodall, the British primatologist, grew up here before she started studying chimpanzees in Africa.

The coastline just west of Bournemouth, called the Jurassic Coast, is not quite like Jurassic Park, but it’s monumental nonetheless. It’s England’s first and only natural World Heritage Site and it’s the only place on Earth where you can experience a “walk through time” and explore 185 million years of our history while strolling along the stunning coast.

 Bournemouth and Poole have each won four Blue Flag Awards for their beaches, which means that they are some of the world's best beaches. United, the two towns have more Blue Flag Awards than other resort in the UK.

After Liverpool and London, it is the UK town where The Beetles played the most concerts – there must have been something they liked down here.

During the past three years, approximately 1.5 cubic meters of sand has been removed from the Isle of Wight and Poole Harbor and put onto Bournemouth, in order to widen the beach.

It is now home to an artificial reef, one of only a few to be built across the world. The reef is expected to bring millions of extra people to the coast all year round.

Sunniest Spot: It’s one of the sunniest places in the UK, making it ideal for beachgoers.

Birthplace of the Portable Radio: It is where Guglielmo Marconi conducted experiments leading to the invention of the portable radio.

Wartime Role: During World War II, it served as a vital location for training troops and preparing for the D-Day landings.