Friday, September 10, 2021

A day exploring Bournemouth

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to walk around Bournemouth.  I've been worried about a lot of things, but one of them was that it would be rainy and cold the whole time and it would be harder to get out and enjoy the sites.  Today it was beautiful.  About 70 with some light clouds.  

We got an early driving tour with our host.  He showed us both parts of the campus, including Delaney's residence hall, the gardens and the seaside.  There are apparently wild goats that live along the cliffs (I didn't manage to get a picture yet).  After that we headed to the store for more food.  Then David and I set out to see the town by foot.

We started with a walk to Meyrick Park near our lodging.  Wooded trail ending at the central gardens along the Bourne 'river' (aka creek).
This is the Town Hall
I love taking pictures of lions.  This one is commemorative of Bournemoth and has the Pier on this side. 
This shows the colorful changing huts along the beach.

The Central Gardens path


The Bourne (creek)
Everything grows very well here. There are ferns and moss all over the place.  
The humidity is currently 87%!

The Lower gardens near the famous Pier
You can't really tell from this picture, but the whole hill is a water feature with flowers. 
David with the changing huts on the beach.
More huts.  The wild goats live on this hill side.  
There is a robust fence line at the top along the coastal road.

Where were several parasails out.  
The wind was pretty strong and they were flying on their boards!
David and I were speculating as to the age of this amusement park on the beach.  The building dates to 1939.  It was a changing station for beachgoers and included rental of 'bathing costumes'. City records indicate they bought 84 dozen bathing costumes.  The beach was closed throughout the war and covered with barbed wire to prevent a Nazi invasion.
The Pier dates back to 1880.  Several sections of it were removed during WWII so it could not be used by Germany to land vessels during the war. Its a big amusement park now.  It has a zipline that goes all the way to the beach. 
The sand is fine and soft.  Lots of little kids out building sandcastles.  Apparently the tide does not go in and out much along this part of the coast.  I've seen brochures with people surfing off the beach, but the waves we saw today were no where near surfable.



















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