Bournemouth’s Gardens snake right through the heart of the town, following the line of the Bourne Stream overlooked by a beautiful tableau of towering palms and tropical blooms.
During the summer months, the gardens are often abuzz with entertainment including a free daily children’s fun festival and the weekly candlelight illuminations while the winter invites the Arts by the Sea installation – a series of fun lit-up huts showcasing the talents of the town’s Arts University.
This is the busiest stretch of the town’s gardens, running between the Square and the sea. You enter the Lower Gardens flanked by pretty rockeries and palm trees as you pass the magnificent, glass-fronted Bh2 Leisure complex on your right-hand side. This stretch of greenspace has a number of refreshment kiosks serving up frozen treats, warming drinks and a variety of snacks and light-bites to enjoy on a welcoming bench or stretched out amongst the award-winning flowerbeds on the luscious lawns.
Further along you’ll pass the former site of the Bournemouth Eye tethered balloon, which flew for fourteen years from 2002, and is now laid to grass. As you follow the course of the pretty stream you’ll reach the popular mini golf course. This fun attraction is open every day of the year with 18 holes to play (12 of which are easy access for visitors with reduced mobility). Directly opposite is the town’s beautiful, listed Victorian bandstand, often host to the talented British Legion band and visiting groups ready to entertain visitors gathering on deckchairs on the grass below.
Continue your route towards the sea and you’ll pass the beautiful rockery surrounding the town’s iconic Pavilion theatre before your arrival on Pier Approach, mere footsteps from Bournemouth’s famous golden sand.
Whether you’ve packed up a picnic ready for the bandstand to strike up or you’re just passing through on your way to the shops or the beach, Bournemouth Gardens is more than just a walk in the park.
