Westbourne, Boscombe and Southbourne

About Westbourne, Boscombe and Southbourne

By the ULTIMATE Brighton Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Beyond the town centre, Bournemouth’s villages each have their own life: Westbourne with its Gothic arcade and fish and chips, Boscombe with its arcade, pier and surf-side restaurants, and Southbourne on the way to Hengistbury Head.

Many Bournemouth people would tell you that the best of the town lies a mile or two from the pier, in the old villages that the resort swallowed as it grew.

Westbourne

At the heart of Westbourne stands its arcade, built in 1884–85 by Henry Joy: a well-preserved polychrome Gothic shopping arcade, Grade II listed, with gift shops, cafés and the UK’s smallest cinema, the Bournemouth Colosseum, with only 19 seats. Chez Fred, run by three generations of the Capel family since 1989, serves fish and chips on Seamoor Road, and a wooded walk leads down to Alum Chine and the beach.

Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.

Boscombe

Boscombe’s Royal Arcade is filled with independent shops and bazaars selling niche clothing, collectables and coffee. Café Boscanova roasts speciality coffee on Christchurch Road, and down on the sea front Urban Reef has the view over the beach and Boscombe Pier.

Southbourne

Southbourne, east again, has Fisherman’s Walk, a park with a bandstand running down to the beach, and Restaurant Roots, a small tasting-menu restaurant on Belle Vue Road. Beyond it lies Hengistbury Head, a nature reserve with cliffs of clay and ironstone and wide views over Christchurch Harbour.

Getting about

The promenade runs for miles along the beach between the villages, so you can walk or cycle from one to the next by the sea.

Our advice: spend one evening in Westbourne for the arcade and fish and chips, and one morning at Boscombe and Southbourne, ending with a walk on Hengistbury Head.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Westbourne, Boscombe and Southbourne before you go.