Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, please confirm event/venue details in advance.
COUNTRY CODE:
Dial +44 for England
FROM THE AIRPORT
Car Hire :
Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk on arrival or call +44 (0)12 0229 3357. Open from 7am-midnight seven days a week.
Train :
The nearest train stations are Christchurch (six kilometres) and Bournemouth (10 kilometres). From Bournemouth there are half-hourly connections to London Waterloo, cross-country links to the Midlands and north of England, as well as regular local services to Dorchester, Weymouth and Southampton (www.nationalrail.co.uk).
Taxi :
Approved taxis meet arriving flights. The fare to central Bournemouth is about £14.
Bus :
Buses go to the town's travel interchange (rail and bus) and Bournemouth Square. Yellow Buses has four services on weekdays departing at 10.55am, 12.30pm, 4.50pm and 6.20pm, and four on weekends. The journey takes about 15 minutes. Tickets: £4 (Tel. +44 (0)120 263 6100. www.yellowbuses.co.uk).
(10 Seamoor Road, Westbourne. Tel. 0120 276 1023) Home to some of the UK's finest fish and chips. Takeaway and licensed restaurant frequented by celebs and lesser mortals.
(10-14 Banks Road, Sandbanks. Tel. 0120 270 7271) Elegant and stylish waterfront dining on the Sandbanks Peninsular at Poole. Great views over the harbour and surprisingly good value, given the location.
(16 High Street, Poole. Tel. 0120 267 4970) Bills itself as the only restaurant in Poole where the owner catches his own fish! The emphasis is on fresh food.
(Chewton Common Road, New Milton. Tel. 0142 527 5341) Five-star, privately owned and world-famous, Chewton Glen lies on the edge of the New Forest and has an award-winning restaurant. The extensive menu uses the very best produce from Dorset and Hampshire, as well as a huge international range.
(Penn Hill Avenue, Poole. Tel. 0120 271 0888) Popular bar recently refurbished and offering a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere. No DJs, just quality background music.
(Bournemouth Square. Tel. 0120 258 9888) Converted last year from a church into one of the premier live music venues in the area, with restaurant and bars.
(36 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth. Tel. 0120 296 3888) One of the best student union venues in the country, but it's not just for students.
On the ground
Shop
Westover Gallery is one of the South West’s most successful independent galleries, featuring work by local, national and international artists. Explore and hunt out potential purchases over the three floors (Westover Road. Tel. 0120 229 7682).
Insider Tip
The Bournemouth Eye, a helium balloon, is the town's highest attraction, tethered in the famous Lower Gardens. Great views all around, especially across the bay to Poole and the Isle of Purbeck.
Key Area
Poole Quay is a lively area with atmospheric pubs, excellent restaurants, boat trips around the famous harbour, regular markets and themed evenings.
This month
The Circus of Horrors, at the Pavilion Theatre, features the strange, the macabre and the downright weird, with death-defying trapeze artists, sword swallowers, voodoo acrobats and blood-thirsty vampires (27 February. www.bic.co.uk).
Day Tripping
Winchester
–
About 45 minutes by train or car from Bournemouth, on the edge of the South Downs, this is this former seat of Alfred the Great. Popular for its shopping and architecture, quirky open-air events and 11th-century cathedral.
No way!
Frankenstein author Mary Shelley and her husband Percy are among Bournemouth's literary connections, which include Robert Louis Stevenson and JRR Tolkien.
