Bournemouth Beach - The perfect family day out

26/04/2019


Kids on the beach

Collaborative Post 

On the way back from our trip to Guernsey in the Channel Islands, we arrived late into Poole Ferry Port (around midnight) so there was no way we were going to head back to Cardiff that night and instead checked into a Travelodge in Poole although there are plenty of hotels in Bournemouth and decided to extend our holiday by one more day and explore a part of the coast we hadn't really been to before. I had heard really good things about Bournemouth and it's been somewhere I have wanted to take the kids for a while so this was a great opportunity to do just that. 

As soon as we got to our hotel we headed straight to bed as it had been a very long day and woke up ready to explore. As Poole is only a 20 min drive from Bournemouth it seemed like it was going to be a pretty easy place to get too but what we hadn't taken into account was it being a Bank Holiday Friday and not just any Bank Holiday but one with glorious warm and sunny weather so as you can imagine everyone in a 100 mile radius was heading to the beach. Luckily Bournemouth Beach is huge with more than enough space for everyone and we wanted to keep our itinerary for the day nice and loose and simply discover what was on offer. 


family beach

Beach chairs


We stumbled onto Alun Chine beach which is a beautiful blue flag beach around a 20 min stroll west of Bournemouth main pier yet has so much on offer for a day out. As soon as we parked up we knew we were going to have fun as you walk past a large outdoor nature inspired play park which colourful Beach huts lining the sand. No bright arcades or loud music but an expanse of clean sandy beach to run on. 

The coastline here is so fantastic that on a sunny day like the day we visited you could easily mistake it for somewhere in Europe and its so refreshing to just slow things down and enjoy the simple pleasures such as double ice-creams from the small but popular ice-cream kiosk. While the kids ran in and out of the water and built sandcastles (supervised by their Dad) I headed for a spot of shade in the Tropical gardens that overlook Alun Chine and offer a great view of the beach. 


Vesuvio Bournemouth

Bournemouth tropical garden


As the day went in we pop into Vesuvio Italian Restaurant for some ice cold lemonades for the kids and an Aperol Spritz for myself. The atmosphere here is great and the menu looked mouth watering although it was still a little early for supper but if you're looking for the best of Italian food overlooking the beach then this is the spot. 

As Bournemouth Beach promenade spans a pretty far distance every half hour a land-train arrives and stops off at a number of stops before reaching the Pier. Luckily we manage to get the last one of the day and jumped off Durely Beach Chine which is home to the best-positioned Harvester I have ever seen with the sand coming right up to the door and unrestricted views across the beach. While we usually avoid chains Harvesters was a safe bet for what had been a non-stop day of swimming and running around and like I said this certainly was not the normal run of the mill Harvester. I would advise booking in advance on weekends though as we did have a bit of a wait but it was well worth it. 


Train Bournemouth

Beach restaurant



Filled up on salad of good food and with the sun slowly going down we took a relaxing stroll back to Alun Chine with a full tummy and a full heart. While I know the centre of Bournemouth has plenty on offer, if your looking for a slower pace and a nice weekend break away from reality then I highly recommend making Alun Chine on Bournemouth beach a base and you can also hire out one of the beautiful pastel coloured Beach huts to top off a classic British seaside break. 


Bournemouth

The spending money was gifted by Hotels.com, but all views are my own

11 comments:

  1. What a lush day! I love spending the weekend at the beach. We recently did the same in the North East and it was wonderful. Roll on summer!

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  2. I used to go to Bournemouth when I was a child. I don't remember how busy it would get, I was enjoying myself too much to notice!

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    1. I have to say because we went away from the main area and spent the day at Alun Chine it was really quite calm and manageable as well as very enjoyable

      Laura x

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  3. I've been to that Harvester and was lucky enough to sit closest to the beach on a really warm evening - it was lovely! The last time I went I sat on the beach, near the pier, and watched mad people ziplining from the end of the pier to the beach!

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    1. That Harvester has to be the one with the best location thats for sure - what a spot!! I really want to go back and try the Zip-lining

      Laura x

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  4. I have never heard of this beach before. It looks very nice.

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    1. It was the first time we visited and wow what a surprise - such a beautiful place and very clean and perfect for a family day out

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  5. Sounds like such a great day out. If we are ever in the area we will be sure to check it out :-) #fearlessfamtrav

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  6. Sounds like a brilliant way to spend a family day. It'll be a while before we get a chance to visit Bournemouth but when we do I'll be checking out the places you visited. #fearlessfamtrav

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  7. I've only been to Bournemouth once and that's when hubby was running the maraton there a couple of years ago. I was so impressed with that massive stretch of sand. So so beautiful.
    #fearlessfamtrav

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Lovely comments

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