Jane's Midlife Journey

There’s so much to see and do in and around Bournemouth on a warm, sunny day. But when it’s cold, wet and windy, less so. One place with plenty of indoor activities on offer is Tower Park. Situated around 5 miles north west of Bournemouth, this entertainment complex was, according to Wikipedia, ‘one of the first leisure complexes of its kind in Europe when it opened in 1989’. Translation; ‘has seen better days‘?

There are a number of different Entertainment Venues across the complex catering for both kids and adults, plus various Food Outlets. To be honest, in my opinion, it’s a rather depressing conglomeration of concrete.

However, hopefully this is about to change as a £2.5 million regeneration project is now underway, due to complete in spring 2025. This will see new landscaping, walkways, seating and LED lighting. Note: In the interim, there are various holes and bollards and the place looks even more depressing.

How to get to Tower Park

Tower Park is located just off the A3049 between Bournemouth and Poole. It is well signposted. Note: Roadworks on the A3049 may cause congestion and are scheduled to continue until mid 2025.

It’s not the easiest place to reach by public transport from Bournemouth. Buses no 16 and 17 stop at Chesil Gardens and No 18 stops at Warburton Road. Both are around a 15 minute walk to the complex. Bus No 26 from Poole does stop at Tower Park, but via a rather circuitous route round Canford Heath.

Parking

There is a large, free car park.

Tower Park Attractions

Entertainment

• Buzz Bingo
• Hollywood Bowl
• Lemur Landings
• PureGym
• Splashdown
• (Vue)

Food & Drink

• Burger King
• KFC
• Nando’s
• Pizza Hut
• Pizza Express
• Taco Bell
• The Sweet Spot

Entertainment

Buzz Bingo

Buzz Bingo is easy to locate; follow the smoke from the gaggle of bingo players who’ve popped outside for a cigarette. It offers bingo and slot machines It also offers food and drink, which can be ordered via your touchscreen so you don’t miss that important number… Buzz Bingo is open daily – and much of the night – from 10 am (11 am on Sundays) until 3 am.

Hollywood Bowl

Hollywood Bowl offers 24 lanes of bowling plus arcade games, pool tables, a bar and an American themed diner. It is open daily.

Lemur Landings

Lemur Landings is a soft play area for children aged 11 and under. Different zones cater for different ages. For older children, there is a multi level play area with a digital climbing wall and low ropes. Under 7s have a different soft play area with the same equipment, old smaller, plus Leweyville Farm; a 7 station role play village with its own road. For pre-walkers, there is a sensory room.

Lemur Landings is open daily, opening longer at weekends and school holidays. Bookings must be made in advance. Further details can be found here.

PureGym

Sandwiched between the fast food restaurants is a PureGym, so you can burn some of those calories off, either in the gym or at a class. We opted for some Burn. PureGym is open daily, around the clock.

Splashdown

Splashdown markets itself as the ‘UK’s biggest and best waterparks!’ It boasts 13 flume rides (4 of which are seasonal) with varying degrees of difficulty. Slides range from an 8 metre near vertical drop in total darkness to a more sedate starter flume for under 7s.

Opening times vary with the park being closed completely or closed during the week for much of the year, opening mainly at weekends and during the school holidays. Further details can be found here. Entry prices start at £18 per person, raising to £19 from April.

Vue

The former Cineworld complex has closed down, with Vue taking over in summer 2025 following an extensive refurbishment. The new cinema reopened in August with a day of £1 screenings and a party with plenty of prizes to be won. Orla was very excited about winning a bag of chocate! The new cinema offers 10 screens with luxury reclining seats and a self-service food court.

Food and Drink

All the junk food is represented at Tower Park. KFC, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Nando’s, Taco Bell – it’s all here. There’s even a Burger King, despite the best efforts of a former, disgruntled employee who burnt the original restaurant down. And if all that lot hasn’t done enough damage, there’s The Sweet Spot, which sells traditional and contemporary sweets.

Tower Park for Children

Pretty much everything at Tower Park is geared towards children. Indeed, on a rainy day, it can feel a bit like every child from miles around has been brought here to let off steam.

• Updated: February 2025

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.