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A child friendly week in Bournemouth

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January 13, 2020

2019 was our first experience of having to take holidays in the actual school holidays and what a shock to the system that was!   We resorted to an Excel spreadsheet to plan childcare cover over the holidays and could have done with a double Whisky looking at the price difference from our usual two weeks away in June, to now being restricted to only July or August school dates.     With the cost of the house renovation still stinging us and no dosh left for a fancy overseas break we opted to holiday in the UK last Summer as we felt the price jump from June to July / August was astronomical and didn’t make sense to spend on a holiday when we’d rather put the money in the short term in to the house.

I’d vague memories of spending time in Bournemouth when I was little, my Mum always reminding me how I used to crawl along the beach and eat the sand!  Yum.    At the start of August last year we had a number of renovation jobs that we needed to crack on with, therefore to give Christian a chance to focus on DIY I booked a week in Bournemouth with my Mum and Dad.  Christian stayed at home just joining us for one night, not ideal but it gave him some chance to really focus on sanding floors and painting without the kids being home.

In planning where to visit I found instagram was hugely helpful with people sharing tons of recommendations of places to go and things to do, I’ve noted the full list of suggestions at the bottom of this post as we didn’t have time to do everything.   We stayed in a two bedroom flat located in Durley Chine, I won’t list it here as I think you’ll probably find a wider selection on Air B&B.

Durley Chine

My personal favourite thing to do during the time away was running along Bournemouth beach before it got busy.  I’d head out each morning before breakfast at around 7:30am and run from Durley Chine towards Alune Chine.  When Christian arrived he also joined me and we enjoyed the fresh air, watching the waves crashing along the beach.    I checked distances and Bournemouth pier to Boscombe pier and back is 5kms, Boscombe to Branksome Dene Chine is 7kms.  I think if I lived around here this would be something I’d aim to do as a personal fitness running goal.

A short distance from where we were staying was Alune Chine Park.  The park was inspired by treasure island, Robert Louis Stevenson lived at Skerry which is at the tip of Alune Chine.  The park was great with a wooden boat, slides and swings set in a lovely area and with a cafe close by.  It’s next to to the beach and is also accessible from the land train which goes from Bournemouth town centre.  Alune Chine is the largest of the four chines in Bournemouth, it was never that busy whilst we visited.

Durley Chine

We enjoyed a brilliant day at Farmer Palmers Farm Park, its located just outside Poole and I would highly recommend this for a fun family day.  It was clean with so much for the children to do. We went on a woodland walk where we spotted dragonflys, wooden forest carvings and stopped to enjoy the gentle running stream. There were shetland ponies, sheep shearing demonstrations, a large Maize Maze, hay filled playbarn, a Go-kart race track, mini tractor play area, bouncy castles, soft play and a straw filled barn packed with slides.  So many things to do and being fortunate to visit on a day when it was really sunny it wasn’t over run with visitors.

Farmer Palmers Farm ParkFarmer Palmers Farm Park

Branksome Chine was our favourite beach, the sand was so clean and with a beach cafe and great facilities plus parking we loved visiting here. There are over 7 miles of sandy beaches here and we just embraced being outdoors.

Durley ChinePlaying in the sand at Bournemouth beach Bournemouth beach

For shopping I popped to Castlepoint for an emergency swimsuit purchase in the large M&S.  There was also an Asda, Sainsbury’s, River Island, New Look and many more major retailers plus lots of free parking.

Lollipop cafe was a small softplay on Landseer Road, Westbourne, just 3 mins from where we were staying in Durley Chine. Unlike many noisy, grimy softplay centres this one was light, felt calm and was really clean. It’s housed in an old church and has a small outdoor seating area as well as a space for small babies to stretch and crawl.  It was great for a morning when we wanted to stay local and do something low key.

The high street in Westbourne was great with some boutique style shops, a Pizza Express, JoJo Maman Bebe, M & S and many independent cafes. We met up with my friend Charlotte at the Circo Lounge for brunch . There are a couple of car parks right behind the main high street in Westbourne, all pay & display. The parking machines take contactless payments which was handy.

Circo Lounge Westbourne

On one overcast day when we wanted to get out of the house for an hour we visited a free park in Bournemouth’s upper gardens, this is right in the centre of Bournemouth. It had a zip wire, climbing equipment, balance bars and swings. I parked at the Avenue car park which was just next to the park.  You could walk from this park down towards the beach, crossing over small bridges across the stream.  The gardens lead to a pond and rockery area, before reaching the main beach.

Bournemouth park

Christian and I went for drinks and food one evening in Aruba, a beachfront bar located right on the Pier in central Bournemouth.  The service was pretty poor with the waiter acting like he was doing me a favour serving me but the location was good for beach / people watching and it was a short walk home afterwards.

For brunch one day we hopped in the car and took a short drive to Urban reef, its an informal cafe / restaurant on the seafront.  With breakfast served until 11am we sampled the ‘surfs up’ full English.  They had a huge selection including pancakes and breakfast muffins and I’d definitely recommend it. With seating inside and out it was really popular, particularly with the bonus of its sea views.

On our penultimate morning we caught the little beach train.   This went from a stop just a short distance from Urban reef through Boscombe high street, the gardens and then back along the beach.   The kids enjoyed it and its a sweet way to see the local area.

Another day out was a trip to Brownsea Island.  We parked in Poole and caught the ferry across, you can also catch a ferry from Sandbanks.  The ferry leaves every hour and were packed full as its a popular place to visit.  The ferry is free to children under 6 and adults were £12 each.  The island is where Lord Baden-Powell held his first scout camp and its owned by the National Trust.  Hop off the ferry as soon as you arrive and you’ll find lots of useful information in the visitor centre.  There is a wetland, lily pond, cafe, natural play area, picnic area, church and castle.  There are also two holiday cottages on the island which I thought would be lovely to stay in and enjoy the island once guests have left on the ferry.  Despite the sunshine its very blustery on the ferry (the kids wanted to sit on the top deck) so do take a cardi / coat.

Brownsea Island

We had plenty of other places that we could have visited thanks to suggestions from the instagram community including:

Tyneham Village
Worrbarrow Bay
Lulworth Cove
Tower Park if wet – it has cinema, bowling, an indoor water park and restaurants
Moors Valley on the edge of Ringwood Forest – acres of woods, a tree trail, play park and steam train
Upton Country Park
Kingston Lacey
Christchurch Quay
Adventure Wonderland
We had a great week, helped by the weather being reasonably nice for the most part.   Bournemouth has masses going for it and I’d highly recommend it for a family-friendly UK break.   Do let me know if you visit this Summer, I’d love to hear what you enjoy whilst there.
Family friendly Bournemouth
Being away for a week also really helped with the house renovation progress, the below shows what was happening here in Bristol whilst I was gone!
Sanding wooden parquet flooring
Bournemouth, Durley Chine, Holidays with children
By:thedreamhomewebuilt

Hi, I'm thedreamhomewebuilt

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Stop scratching your head when someone asks you wh Stop scratching your head when someone asks you what you want for your birthday.  All this year I've kept a note on my phone of lovely things when I've seen them shared on instagram or read about them in a magazine, so up on my blog today are a whole heap of ideas that'll help if you've got a birthday coming up or if you've got to buy for someone like you (and me). Full of mainly independent retailers to help us shop a bit smaller, this gift list is packed full of lovely treats to act as inspiration if you need it.  No affiliate links, all just ideas. 
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I hope its helpful?  Have a lovely week (yes it is Tuesday not Monday but it feels like Monday!). (Link in bio).
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#ontheblog #bloggersofinstagram #presentideas #40plusblogs #newblogpost #perfectpresents #girlswhoblog #lifestyleblog giftguide #shopsmall #blogandbeyond  #supportsmall  #uketsysellers  #presentinspiration  #giftsforher #girliegifts #over40 #presentideas
Neptune Home has to be my favourite interiors sho Neptune  Home has to be my favourite interiors shop for it's real simplistic country feel, you'll no doubt recognise the heavy pot on my coffee table as the Neptune Hanley.  It's got a lovely rough finish and is a real chunky fella.  Second behind Neptune has to be H & M home, it's a good job there isn't one in Bristol as I'd be in there alot.  They makes the current interior trends so accessible⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I want my home to have a clean, neutral yet stylish and cosy feel.  I'm pretty happy with this downstairs but am going back to the drawing board with our bedroom.  It's not how I want it and so that and our fourth bedroom are on my project list.  My inspiration are the Soho House bedrooms.  You know roll top bath and gorgeous decor.... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My extra long weekend starts now as Fridays are my My extra long weekend starts now as Fridays are my non-working day.  Currently suffering from Clinomania /cli·​no·​ma·nia/ (n.) The excessive desire to stay in bed.  A lie in tomorrow and then I’m back to the gym. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Wishing you all a lovely long weekend when you get there..... This sunshine is just such a joy isn't it, of course I didn't see it coming and ended up wearing this jumper and roasting all day!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The space under the stairs..... my Made.com yellow The space under the stairs..... my Made.com yellow chair finally came downstairs from the bedroom upstairs to his new home.  We've had a busy weekend but today got to kick back with some family in the garden, roast dinner and sunshine and it felt great.  Kids have squabbled like Tom & Jerry today (and every day of the holidays) but I tell myself that is standard sibling behaviour.  Is it bonkers that I often think about their wedding days and imagine them fondly talking about each other in their respective wedding speeches, laughing at what sods they were to each other as kids..... only time will tell eh?  Do you remember if you argued loads with your bro/sis? Mine are alot older than me so I didn't have anyone to argue with but am sure I'd annoyed them when they were around....... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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