-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – Compton Acres
Compton Acres brands itself as the south’s finest privately owned gardens. It consists of a ten acre series of separate, themed, interlinked gardens joined by landscaped trails. The gardens were designed in the 1920s by Thomas William Simpson, whose vision was to create a necklace of gardens, each one being a beautiful bead in this…
-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – Hengistbury Head
Five miles west of Bournemouth, the bay ends at Hengistbury Head. This stunning headland, culminating at Mudeford Sandbank, has the English Channel to the south and Christchurch Harbour to the north. The area is a designated nature reserve and also a Stone and Iron Age archaeological site. It is a beautiful place to spend some…
-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – Bourne Free
Bourne Free is Bournemouth’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration. I lived in Bournemouth for several years before actually going to Bourne Free, mainly because I used to live in London, where the Pride Parade is so massive that I felt that anything else could only be an anti climax. The festival consists of three separate events…
-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – Hire a Beryl Bike/Scooter
The perfect way to get around Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is to hire a Beryl Bike or Beryl Scooter. The 1150 bikes and scooters reside mostly in bays (marked by green painted rectangles) of which there are 355 across the three towns. But they could, theoretically, be anywhere. Just locate the nearest bike or scooter…
-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – St Peter’s Church (Mary Shelley’s Grave)
St Peter’s Church may be 800 years younger than its counterpart in neighbouring Christchurch, but its 62 metre high spire dominates the Bournemouth landscape. The Grade I listed church itself is worth a visit. However, its main claim to fame is as the final resting place of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. How to get…
-
Venice in 3 Days
We spent three days exploring the iconic city of Venice. There are plenty of interesting buildings in Venice and I’m sure visiting them would be interesting. But for me, Venice is all about the canals. From the moment we touched down at the airport and took a water taxi (Vaporetto) to the hotel, I was…
-
Milan in 2 Days
We went to Milan for the weekend primarily to do a parkrun. Basically, we found ourselves in Switzerland, as we had transported some equipment our daughter needed for an experiment. But they don’t do parkrun in Switzerland. So, on Friday, we jumped into our (her) hired van and drove to Italy. Milan is, in fact,…
-
Italy 3 Day Road Trip (Milan and Como)
We took a 3 day road trip from Switzerland to Italy, destination Milan and back. Our main aim was to run Milano Nord parkrun, but we visited some of the city’s top attractions as well, with the exception Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. If you want to see this famous 15th Century Mural, booking in…
-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – Bournemouth Bus Rally
Bournemouth Bus Rally is an annual celebration of all things bus which takes place in Kings Park, Boscombe on the outskirts of Bournemouth. There are around 50 vehicles in attendance for visitors to admire, plus heritage rides around Bournemouth and stalls selling mainly bus related products. How to get to Bournemouth Bus Rally Kings Park…
-
101 Things to do in Bournemouth – Pier to Pier Swim
As Bournemouth has two piers just 1.4 miles apart, a popular challenge is to swim from one pier to another – either just for the sake of it or as part of an organised event. Each year, the British Heart Foundation puts on the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim. Billed as one of Europe’s biggest…
Jane's Midlife Journey 