Bournemouth

Best things to do in Bournemouth

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   1. Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and the Jurassic Coast

   • Half a day to a full day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families
   • Active

   Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch near Lulworth, and Lulworth Cove is a nearby World Heritage landform. Both sit on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO site about 154 km long that runs from Exmouth in Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset.

   Both are privately owned by the Weld family's Lulworth Estate but open to the public. Check access and parking arrangements before you go.

   21,576 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Durdle Door
   • Wikipedia, Lulworth Cove
   • Wikipedia, Jurassic Coast

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   2. New Forest National Park

   • Half a day to a full day
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Active

   A national park since 1 March 2005, covering 566 square km of south-west Hampshire and south-east Wiltshire. Heathland and woodland are home to deer and to the New Forest ponies that roam freely alongside commoners' cattle and donkeys.

   10,497 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, New Forest

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   3. Corfe Castle

   • 2 to 3 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Active

   An 11th-century castle built by William the Conqueror on the Isle of Purbeck, above the village of the same name. It commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills and was one of the earliest English castles built partly in stone.

   We have not confirmed ticket or opening arrangements; check the official page before you go.

   6,420 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Corfe Castle

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   4. Swanage

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Couples
   • No car needed

   A coastal town at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, with a gently sloping sheltered sandy beach. It has a Victorian pier, Durlston Country Park and the Great Globe, with Old Harry Rocks nearby on the Jurassic Coast.

   4,041 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Swanage

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   5. The Tank Museum

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Adults
   • Rainy day

   A collection of almost 300 armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp, about 12 miles west of Poole. It includes Tiger 131, one of two surviving Tiger I tanks in operable condition, and the world's oldest surviving combat tank.

   We have not confirmed ticket prices or hours; check the museum's own site.

   4,022 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, The Tank Museum

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   6. Sandbanks

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Best in summer
   • Families
   • Couples

   An affluent district of Poole on a narrow spit reaching into the mouth of Poole Harbour. It has an award-winning beach, and a chain ferry links it across the harbour mouth to Studland.

   2,919 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Sandbanks

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   7. Brownsea Island

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Active

   The largest island in Poole Harbour, owned by the National Trust, with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of it is open to the public, with woodland, heath, wildlife and cliff-top views over the harbour.

   The island is reached across the harbour; check the National Trust for boat and opening details.

   2,773 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Brownsea Island

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   8. Kingston Lacy

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples
   • Families
   • Rainy day

   A country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, for many years the family seat of the Bankes family, who had lived at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War.

   We have not confirmed opening arrangements; check before you go.

   1,547 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Kingston Lacy

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   9. Poole Harbour

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Families

   A large natural harbour of about 36 square km, a drowned valley formed at the end of the last ice age. It contains several islands, the largest being Brownsea Island.

   1,366 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Poole Harbour

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    10. Swanage Railway

    • 2 to 3 hours
    • Check entry rules before you go
    • Families
    • Couples
    • Rainy day

    A heritage railway branch line between Wareham and Swanage in Dorset, opened in 1885 and now run as a heritage railway.

    We have not confirmed timetables or fares; check the railway's own site.

    1,340 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, Swanage Railway

Just missed the list: Hengistbury Head (11th by readers; a nature reserve headland between Bournemouth and Mudeford); Monkey World (12th by readers; an ape rescue centre near Wool)