Bournemouth: An Adventure Tourist’s ‘Must Visit’
If you’re looking for an action-packed weekend, or indeed longer holiday, look no further than Bournemouth in the summer months! Having returned from a long weekend there, with temperatures reaching 24 degrees, it’s the outdoor lover’s paradise. And those into water sports will be spoilt for choice.
Sailing off Bournemouth Beach in a sapphire blue sea, and not a cloud in the sky
The beach at Southbourne, where I was based, is particularly loved by locals – always a good sign! – as it is so clean, the sand is so picture postcard powdery yellow. The beachfront is always a hive of activity with countless seaside cafés and bars serving a whole array of delicious home-made food, served from early in the morning until 10pm at night. What better way to start a day than a bracing dip in the sea to blow the cobwebs out, followed by coffee and a Danish pastry at one of the busy beachfront establishments?
The spotless beach at Southbourne, on the outskirts of Bournemouth. A liittle further along are the beach front cafés with menus for all tastes. Their Danish pastries and hot coffees after a bracing wake-up call were a particular favourite!
Go a little further afield to Poole or Christchurch, and there are options for a wide variety of water sports and hiring the equipment afterwards. A prime example is Poole Windsurfing based in Poole Harbour, considered by many to be the UK’s mecca for water sports. It offers tuition from beginners to advanced level, as well as equipment hire, but the list for the whole area, including Bournemouth itself, is endless, as is the choice of water sports, from:
Apologies if I’ve missed any! 😊
If you really want to push the boat out – yes, the pun WAS intended! – and head for Lymington, you can book a place on an 8-berth luxury sailing yacht, and experience 5 hours on the high sea, complete with a complimentary glass of champagne and two course meal. You can leave the sailing completely to the captain, or pick up some tips and tricks yourself. It’s entirely up to you how much you choose to get involved. The experience doesn’t come cheap, however, but luxury experiences in life never do, and sometimes you have to just live a little!
Adventure on the high seas with more than a touch of luxury thrown in. Sometimes you just have to indulge!
The Bournemouth PierZip, on the other hand, is truly for adrenalin junkies only. Don’t miss out. You know you want to, and the bragging rights are well worth it. First off, climb the 60ft tower at the end of Bournemouth Pier. Then get harnessed up, and launch yourself off if you dare. You’ll be propelled down a unique 250 metre long pier-to-shore zipline for one almighty adrenalin fix. Top tip: bring the GoPro to record the event for posterity! After all, if you don’t have your proof, did it even happen?
Are you up for the PierZip Challenge? Don’t forget the GoPro to get the proof for social media. Otherwise, did it even happen?
Just a few kilometres away you can experience paragliding courtesy of Geronigo. I didn’t have the time to fit this in this time round, but those who have done it speak of an experience of being at one with nature like no other!
You can also hire a bike and go for a day trip, depending entirely on your energy level; either along the sea front, or further inland (the mountain bike day out to the New Forest is the subject of another blog, so I won’t spoil that here)! You can hire a standard bike from Kool Cycles Hire, or if you want to cheat, there’s the choice of an ebike, from Bournemouth Cycleworks, and explore any number of places, including Weymouth, Portland, or get a ferry across to the Isle of Wight. The possibilities are endless. Whether your preferences are for coastal route, or countryside, or both; it’s all there.
For the really athletic, you can enjoy beach volleyball, with the local club Deep Dish making some courts available to the general public free of charge at certain times of the day. Southbourne also has beach volleyball courts available.
Just 25 miles away is Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, one of the most iconic features of the Jurassic Park coastline, and Instagrammable beaches you’ll ever find. It’s a fabulous day out.
There’s so much you can pack into a weekend in Bournemouth, for the adventure tourist it’s an absolute ‘must visit’ destination! And that’s before you consider that it’s just a stone’s throw from the New Forest, which is another holiday experience altogether, and the subject of a forthcoming blog post! Coming soon!
