A weekend in… Bournemouth

Two hundred years ago, Bournemouth – or ‘Bomo’ as it’s known to most locals – was wild heathland. The town then worked hard to grow into Thomas Hardy’s description of the city as a ‘Mediterranean lounging place on the English Channel’. The next chapter of its evolution, however, involves an unusual bet being placed on the surfboard, for at Boscombe, just east of one of the town’s two piers, work is under way on the first artificial surf reef in the northern hemisphere. An arc of giant sandbags will reshape and force the waves in the Channel up to double height, before they break onto the seven-mile stretch of soft sand. Once the new reef is in place, its designer, Professor Kerry Black – the world’s leading expert in artificial reefs – expects there to be more than 150 good surfing days per year compared with 77 at present, which should be a draw for surfers far and wide. Work is expected to be completed by October 2008. 

Paul Clarke of the Bournemouth Surfing Centre claims 10,000 locals already regularly take to their boards. However, Bournemouth’s focus has always been on pulling in outsiders. The city was founded in 1810 with precisely that objective, by wily Dorset landowner Captain Lewis Tregonwell. His summerhouses allowed visitors to indulge in nude bathing (men only) and the medicinal imbibing of a pint of seawater daily. Habits evolved but, especially once the railway reached it, the resort grew apace.
 
The traces of Bournemouth’s 19th-century heyday are still there: the glorious pleasure gardens that track the Bourne stream down to the sea; St Stephen’s Church, for which Sir John Betjeman said it was worth travelling 200 miles on a coach and being sick on the journey to see; and the eclectic Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, definitive proof that there were no obsessive collectors to match the Victorians.

Hit by the advent of the foreign package holiday, the city underwent a hiatus in the 1970s, though it remained a magnet for the elderly. In the national imagination at least, formidable matrons with immaculate, blue-rinsed coiffeurs took up residence along Bournemouth’s steep-sided valleys (or ‘chines’), there to contemplate peacefully what Shakespeare aptly described as the ‘country from whose bourne no traveller returns’.

By the new millennium, other Bournemouths were visible. Liam Gallagher bought a £4 million villa along the peninsula of Sandbanks. A home-grown music scene flourished, including dance music entrepreneurs Slinky, and the town’s nightlife blossomed alongside. Language schools combined with an expanding university to create a ubiquitous student population, with many arriving via the international airport. 

Now, perhaps, it will be Boscombe’s turn to metamorphose, from an ugly duckling of a down-at-heel suburb, so far left out of much of Bournemouth’s boom, into the swan of a surfing mecca. The new reef will be mirrored by the refurbishment of the pier itself, while luxury apartment blocks, with price tags of up to £1 million, are ready for those who can’t bear to leave. A few minutes from the seafront, also in Boscombe, is the lovingly restored, grand Opera House, which once hosted Laurel and Hardy, and later David Bowie and Pink Floyd. Then, just off the high street, a glass-covered Victorian shopping arcade is seeking to stick to independent shops rather than anytown chains.
 

Where Boscombe has already stolen a march is in possessing the city’s leading boutique hotel. Urban Beach is perfectly placed for reef surfers (although it also pulls in boardless weekenders), and owners Mark and Fiona Cribb have done a near-immaculate job in melding elegant comfort with informal service. Decorative flourishes include black chandeliers, oriental silks and Travertine bathrooms. Then there’s a terrace bistro and bar for when the weather is warm. Urban Beach also serves up one of the best breakfasts on the south coast – a Full English and a wealth of healthier options – whether you’ve earned it out on your surfboard or not.  Urban Beach Hotel & Bistro, 23 Argyll Road, Bournemouth (01202 301509, www.urbanbeachhotel.co.uk). Doubles from £90 per night B&B.

 The first 24 hrs
 

• Get togged up Visiting surfers can find all equipment and accessories at the Sorted Surf Shop on Boscombe’s Sea Road (01202 399099, www.sortedsurfshop.co.uk), as well as lessons from £35. Or, in Bournemouth itself, you could try www.bournemouth-surfing.co.uk.

• Rent a hut To don your wetsuit in privacy, or have access to your own kettle, rent a beach hut (£10 a day, 0845 051 1700) – as enjoyed by George V and Queen Mary in the 1930s.

• Visit a shark For those with an urge to learn more about sea creatures, or to enlighten their children, the Oceanarium (01202 311993, www.oceanarium.co.uk) has state-of-the-art transparent viewing tunnels and good old-fashioned feeding times for the sharks, rays and giant turtles.

• Check out the art The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum (01202 451858, www.russell-cotes.bournemouth.gov.uk) offers artworks aplenty and almost every Victorian collectible, from Samurai armour to giant stuffed Muar birds.

• Go raving The student bar of note is DJ Jon Carter’s indie-leaning Sixty Million Postcards (01202 292697, www.sixtymillionpostcards.com). With DJs and bands every week, plus great food.

• Head to the opera The newly renovated 19th-century Opera House (0870 198 9897, www.operahouse.co.uk), is set to become one of the south coast’s best performance venues again.

 Lazy Sunday

• Take an island trip For a contrast to what has become a sizeable city, take the ferry to National Trust-run Brownsea Island (01202 707744, www.nationaltrust.org.uk), birthplace of the Scouts, setting for Enid Blyton’s Famous Five adventures and one of the last UK strongholds for red squirrels. Pushing further west is the Jurassic Coast, including the majestic arch of Durdle Door and the impossibly romantic ruin of Corfe Castle in the Purbeck Hills (www.jurassiccoast.com).

• Get a bird’s-eye view Bournemouth Eye Balloon offers panoramic viewing flights (01202 317697, www.bournemouthballoon.com) from Easter until late September. 

• Go east Hengistbury Head, just a few minutes’ drive to the east, is a little-visited promontory with evidence of Britain’s prehistoric residents. Just ahead, the New Forest National Park begins, with wild ponies, deer and unexpected tranquillity for a location between Bournemouth and Southampton. Within the park is 14th-century Beaulieu Abbey and the very 20th-century National Motor Museum (www.newforestnpa.gov.uk).

 Where to eat

• Café Shore, 10-14 Banks Road, Sandbanks (01202 707271, www.cafeshore.co.uk). Best for star-spotting or, if celebrities bore you, enjoying the panoramic view of Poole Harbour.

• Pierpoint, 42 Sea Road, Boscombe (01202 309238, www.pierpointrestaurant.co.uk). Modern dishes from one of the establishments driving Boscombe’s revival.

• WestBeach, Pier Approach (01202 587785, www.west-beach.co.uk). Award-winning seafood on the beach by Bournemouth Pier.

• Indian Ocean, 4 West Cliff Road (01202 311222, www.indianoceanrestaurant.co.uk). Bangladeshi treats for those who can face the red, white and teal interior.

• Langtry Manor, 26 Derby Road, East Cliff (01202 553887, www.langtrymanor.co.uk). Elegant dining at the house built for Edward VII’s mistress Lillie Langtry. 

Getting there

Transport connections are provided by South West Trains (0845 600 0650, www.southwesttrains.co.uk) and many bus lines (01202 317581). For visitor information, contact 0845 051 1700, www.bournemouth.co.uk.