Bournemouth, Poole & Southampton Info
 

Has anybody been to these cities in the UK? Are they pleasant? Are they worth visiting for a couple of days? Activities available? Any good museums and galleries and things to do in the cities and surrounding area? What is the surrounding area like?<BR><BR>Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

Southampton: large, fairly industrialised port city. Non much of a magnet for tourists, other than cruise ship clientele. Fairly nondescript, modern city centre due to heavy bombing sustained in WWII, but does have excellent shopping centres. Fewer museums and historical interest than its near neighbour (and long-term rival!) Portsmouth.<BR><BR>Bournemouth: Traditional middle-class victorian seaside resort, now being updated for the 21st century. Literally miles of golden sandy beaches which can get very busy on fine summer days. New IMAX cinema, good aquarium, pier, very interesting Russell-Coates art gallery show-casing the accumulated treasures of an Edwardian traveller.<BR><BR>Poole: personally my least favourite of the three towns. Town centre and seafront area are a bit faded and down-market. Pottery museum worth a quick visit. Local highlight is Compton Acres gardens.<BR><BR>Surrounding areas: At all costs don't miss the New Forest, a large natural park area southwest of Southampton. Beautiful villages, scenery, woodland walks, ponies and cows roaming free, Beaulieu National Motor Museum etc etc... Other local places of interest well worth seeing are Winchester (15 miles N of Southampton), Portsmouth Historic Naval Dockyard, Salisbury and a day trip over to the Isle of Wight - take the Red Funnel ferry from Southampton for a "mini-cruise" down The Solent.

Thank you Local!....anyone else out there know these cities?

topper

ttt

We recently returned from 10 days in the South and southwest of England. We visited the area you mentioned. My vote, without question, would be Salisbury and perhaps Bath. We loved Salisbury with its medieval buildings, cathedral, shopping, pubs. Try the Red Lion Hotel. Dates back to the 1200s.<BR><BR>

If you go west of Poole, you have the wonderfull Dorset country and coastline. Try this site for a taste of the area.<BR><BR>www.dorsetmag.co.uk

Thanks to all who answered. Web site mentioned was useful!

Bournemouth: Once sleepy seaside resort trying to take on Brighton as the hip and happening place on the south coast (and doing it rather well)<BR><BR>Poole: Upmarket place with a nice marina, pottery etc, but much quieter than Bournemouth.<BR><BR>Southampton: Not much to attract a visitor (and I speak as an ex resident). <BR><BR>Points of interest:<BR><BR>The Titanic sailed from there and there is a good museum. <BR><BR>The Spitfire was designed there and again there is a good museum. <BR><BR>The Mayflower Sailed from there(one monument, we keep this quiet, given that the experiment didn't really work out :0).<BR><BR>There is a lively social scene based around the waterfront and high st, but it's not somewhere I'd go on holiday. If you're in the area I would recommend Winchester 13 miles to the north as a better bet.

Take a chartered boat trip round Poole Harbour (the largest in world after apparently) and see Brownsea Island and 4others. There are some fun pubs on the quay too.<BR><BR>Bournemouth has Russell Coates museum, and a lot of decent shops.<BR><BR>But agree with last poster: Bath and Salisbury beat them hands down!<BR>

Hi, I live in Bournemouth and would recommend stopping here if only for what is around us. The New Forest is good, don't wonder where the trees went, Henry VIII cut them down for the navy. Salisbury is close by, Stonehenge just north of that. Winchester is 40 minutes away. Poole is an old sailing town and as such always looks a bit gritty, but it's real. The Purbecks are gorgeous, Dorchester isn't far away and the coast around from Studland is a world heritage site.<BR><BR>Southampton has docks and a huge new shopping mall...<BR><BR>So, stop off for a coupla days, you should find plenty to do.

Thanks everyone :-)<BR><BR>Jane