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Attractions Nearby Bournemouth (Bournemouth, England)



Bournemouth is full of many fantastic tourist attractions, but within a short journey from the town are countless other superb attractions well worth a visit.

Whether you are looking for historical attractions in Bournemouth, beautifully landscaped gardens or parks, you can be sure that you won't have to travel far. Here are some of the top tourist attractions nearby Bournemouth.




Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Poole - Bournemouth, England
The medieval port of Poole is situated just 8 km / 5 miles west of Bournemouth and is full of tourist attractions and activities, such as the famous Poole Pottery. These tourist attractions include Poole Harbour and the Sandbanks peninsula, with excellent facilities for boating and watersports, including windsurfing and jetskiing, a number of highly-acclaimed restaurants and cafés, many historic 18-century buildings, and some excellent hotels. Poole is also one of the most popular areas in the south-west of England for fishing and deep-sea fishing and mackerel-fishing trips regularly depart from Poole Harbour.

Visit our Poole World Guide for further details...


Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Salisbury - Bournemouth, England
Salisbury is the only city in Wiltshire and is home to some of the most historic landmarks in England. Situated around 45 km / 28 miles from Bournemouth, these Salisbury landmarks include Salisbury's world-famous Stonehenge, situated on the spreading Salisbury Plain, and the enormous Salisbury Cathedral, which is regarded as one of the finest medieval cathedrals in the United Kingdom and was built around 800 years ago. Salisbury has an enormous range of tourist attractions to offer visitors from Bournemouth, and is less than one hour from Bournemouth.

Tourist attractions at Salisbury include Old Sarum Castle - an enormous Iron Age hillfort of Old Salisbury which became a medieval settlement, and now contains the ancient ruins of a large castle, Old Wardour Castle - famous for its battle in 1643, when Parliamentarian forces took control of this Salisbury castle, the Rockbourne Roman Villa - the largest and most ancient villa in the area , including a nearby modern museum, with a number of interesting exhibits, Stourhead House and Gardens - featuring some of the most spectacular landscaped gardens in the west country, and Salisbury City Hall Entertainment Centre - a large entertainment centre in central Salisbury with regular national shows, local events and festivals, exhibitions, lectures and concerts.

Visit our Salisbury World Guide for further details...

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight is the perfect place for a relaxing break at any time of the year, and the Isle of Wight's extremely mild climate is well suited to outdoor activities. These include numerous golf courses, watersports, yachting regattas, popular sailing festivals and important boat races. Situated just 3.5 km / 2 miles from the Hampshire shoreline, there are almost 400 ferry and hovercraft crossings each day, the fastest of which taking less than 10 minutes from nearby Portsmouth. The Isle of Wight has a surprising variety of landscapes and coastal scenery on the island, including rivers, woodland areas and chalky downland.

The Isle of Wight has numerous popular beaches, combined with sheltered, clear bathing waters. With over 40 km / 25 miles of clean and unspoilt beaches, these have always been one of the major tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight. During the summer, the sunny Isle of Wight beaches provide the perfect place for sunbathing, building sand castles, paddling, swimming, and general seaside fun on the Isle of Wight. There are also a large number of cycle trails and over 800 km / 500 miles of well-marked walking paths and bridleways, which make the Isle of Wight one of the best spots in the United Kingdom for walking. Over half of the Isle of Wight is actually designated as an 'area of outstanding beauty'. The Isle of Wight is situated just 58 km / 36 miles from Bournemouth.

Visit our Bournemouth World Guide for further details...

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Christchurch - Bournemouth, England
Christchurch is a small town located 8 km / 5 miles east of central Bournemouth and is best known for its impressive church, the Christchurch Priory, which is larger than most cathedrals. This area is also well-known for its expensive property, and many houses in Christchurch are actually more expensive than their equivalent in New York.

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Boscombe
Just 3 km / 2 miles from Bournemouth, Boscombe is a charming seaside town and has wide, sandy beaches, a large pier, a number of gardens, an excellent shopping centre with many restaurants, and several top nightclubs. Boscombe is well-known for its colourful illuminations, which light up the Boscombe seafront at night.

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Wimborne - Bournemouth, England
The small market town of Wimborne is full of character and is 18 km / 11 miles from Bournemouth. This attractive town is centred around Wimborne's interesting old minster and other tourist attractions include a number of museums and a model town of Wimborne as it was in the 1950s.

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Brownsea Island - Poole Harbour, Dorset, BH13 7EE, England
Tel: +(0)1202 707744
Brownsea Island is a popular National Trust nature reserve, close to Bournemouth. This important island is situated at the mouth of Poole Harbour and is an island of heath and woodland. Brownsea Island covers around 500 acres and is famous for being home to native red squirrels, wading birds, peacocks and a variety of interesting wildlife. Brownsea Island Ferries make regular journeys to the island between April to October and sail from Poole Quay.

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Breamore House and Gardens - near Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 2DF, England
Tel: +44 (0)1275 512468
The impressive Breamore Manor House is situated in the scenic village of Breamore, 29 km / 18 miles from central Bournemouth. Overlooking the Avon Valley and surrounding countryside, the house was completed in 1583 and tourist attractions include a museum with one of the finest collections of steam powered farm machinery in the country, many exceptional works of art, and a large, medieval turf maze.
Open: daily - 14:00 to 17:30
Admission: charge, discounts available for children and families

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Stonehenge - Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7DE
Tel: +44 (0)1980 624715
Visit this World Heritage site, one of the most remarkable and intriguing monuments in the United Kingdom. As old as the great temples and pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge exerts a mysterious fascination. Stonehenge is one of the major tourist attractions in this part of England, close to Bournemouth, and regular guide buses run daily from Bournemouth to Stonehenge. The enormous bluestones were brought all the way from South Wales by sheer manpower, a feat hard to imagine possible. The monument of Stonehenge is precisely situated to face the rising and setting of the sun and many Druids worship here. Make time to also visit the extensive prehistoric landscape nearby. The magnificent stones of Stonehenge are surrounded by many mysterious remains of ceremonial and domestic structures - some older than the monument itself and many accessible by road or footpath. Stonehenge is situated 2 miles west of Amesbury on junction of A303 and A344 / 360 and is 61 km / 38 miles from central Bournemouth.
Open: daily, all year
Mid-March to May - 09:30 to 18:00 / June to August - 09:00 to 19:00
September to mid-October - 09:30 to 18:00 / end of October - 09:30 to 17:00
November to mid-March - 09:30 to 16:00
Admission: charge

Attractions Nearby Bournemouth: Longleat - Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NW
Tel: +44 (0)1985 844400
Voted 'UK Family Attraction of the Year 2002' by the 'Good Britain Guide', Longleat offers a great day out for all the family and is one of the most popular attractions nearby Bournemouth, being 82 km / 51 miles from central Bournemouth. From lions to rhinos and monkeys to giraffes, discover many of the world's most majestic creatures as they wander freely within the Safari Park. Gaze at the splendid heirlooms and treasures that fill Longleat House, get lost in the World's longest maze, travel on the miniature railway, feed the sea lions from safari boats, let the children climb and play in the Adventure Castle, and so much more. Longleat is situated just off the A36 between Bournemouth and Salisbury, on the A362 between Warminster and Frome. The attractions at Longleat are often very busy at the weekends during the summer months, so Longleat is best visited on weekdays at this time of the year, to avoid the crowds and queues.
Open: daily, April to early November
Admission: charge, discounts available for children

Other popular tourist attractions close to Bournemouth include:

• Blackgang Chine - Blackgang, Ventnor, PO38 2HN, England
• Bluebell Railway - Sheffield Park Station, Uckfield, TN22 3QL, England
• Brading Experience - Isle of Wight Waxworks, 46 High Street Brading, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 0DQ, England
• Burley Wagon Rides - Stavegate Mill Lane, Burley, Ringwood, BH24 4HP, England
• Bramble Bush Bay Ferry - Ferry Road Studland, Swanage, BH19 3BA, England
• BSCC Millstream Raceway - Unit 11 Millstream Trading Estate Christchurch Road, Ringwood, BH24 3SB, England
• Chessington World of Adventures - Leatherhead Road, Chessington, KT9 2NE, England
• East Somerset Railway - Cranmore Railway Station, Shepton Mallet, BA4 4QP, England
• Indulgence Charters - 20 High Street Wendover, Aylesbury, HP22 6EA, England
• Medieval Masterpieces of Bere Regis - Church of St. John the Baptist, Bere Regis, England
• Mid-hants Railway - The Watercress Line, The Railway Station, Alresford, SO24 9JG, England
• New Barn Field Centre - Bradford Peverell, Dorchester, DT2 9SD, England
• Osborne House (English Heritage) - Osborne House York Avenue, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, PO32 6JY, England
• Quay Brewery - Brewers Quay Hope Square, Weymouth, DT4 8TR, England
• Queen Elizabeth Country Park - Gravell Hill Horndean, Waterlooville, PO8 0QE, England
• Rockbourne Roman Villa - Rockbourne, Fordingbridge, SP6 3PG, England
• RSPB Birdboats - Commercial Yard Wool, Wareham, BH20 6HE, England
• Steam Ship Shield Hall - PO Box 1028, Southampton, SO18 1XT, England
• Swanage Railway - Station House, Swanage, BH19 1HB, England
• Terracotta Warriors - High East Street, Dorchester, DT1 1JU, England
• Splashdown - Tower Park, Poole, BH12 4NY, England

 
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