Mei’s guidebook

Mei
Mei’s guidebook

Outdoor activites

Paddleboard, kayak, windsurf and sailing hire (and wetsuits!) and lessons in the protected & shallow Christchurch harbour.
14 locals recommend
ShoreSports
14 locals recommend
Paddleboard, kayak, windsurf and sailing hire (and wetsuits!) and lessons in the protected & shallow Christchurch harbour.
Sea kayaking, kayak fishing, coasteering, climbing, foraging and bushcraft courses at Studland. You can kayak up to Old Harry Rocks. Guides are really knowledgable on local plant and animal life. Highly recommended.
10 locals recommend
Fore/Adventure
Beach Road
10 locals recommend
Sea kayaking, kayak fishing, coasteering, climbing, foraging and bushcraft courses at Studland. You can kayak up to Old Harry Rocks. Guides are really knowledgable on local plant and animal life. Highly recommended.
Everything from a SuperwormTrail to bike hire & Go Ape High Ropes
262 locals recommend
Moors Valley Country Park and Forest
Horton Road
262 locals recommend
Everything from a SuperwormTrail to bike hire & Go Ape High Ropes
Beautiful and very Instagrammable (but really busy in high season) Go as early as you can and brace yourself for the parking fee (take cash!)
383 locals recommend
Lulworth Cove
383 locals recommend
Beautiful and very Instagrammable (but really busy in high season) Go as early as you can and brace yourself for the parking fee (take cash!)
A beautiful nature reserve on the Headland at the West end of the prom (about 4 miles). There’s a cafe by the car park and you can either walk, bike or take the land train to Mudeford Sandspit with views across Christchurch harbour and to the sea. There’s a small pop up bar & pizza stand at the Beach House https://www.beachhousecafe.co.uk/
264 locals recommend
Hengistbury Head
264 locals recommend
A beautiful nature reserve on the Headland at the West end of the prom (about 4 miles). There’s a cafe by the car park and you can either walk, bike or take the land train to Mudeford Sandspit with views across Christchurch harbour and to the sea. There’s a small pop up bar & pizza stand at the Beach House https://www.beachhousecafe.co.uk/
Boats, kayaks and paddleboard hire on the river at Wareham
22 locals recommend
Wareham Boat Trips
3 The Quay
22 locals recommend
Boats, kayaks and paddleboard hire on the river at Wareham

Rainy day activites

10 screen Odeon cinema, a range of national restaurants and indoor golf!
29 locals recommend
BH2 Leisure Complex
Exeter Crescent
29 locals recommend
10 screen Odeon cinema, a range of national restaurants and indoor golf!
Waterslides!
63 locals recommend
Splashdown
Tower Park
63 locals recommend
Waterslides!
Afternoon tea on a bus along the Bournemouth seafront
Frieda's Tearoom
7 Stafford Rd
Afternoon tea on a bus along the Bournemouth seafront
A rainy day favourite for us. A great secondhand book shop (with a good children’s section), home made cakes and vintage homewares.
10 locals recommend
The Crooked Book
725 Christchurch Rd
10 locals recommend
A rainy day favourite for us. A great secondhand book shop (with a good children’s section), home made cakes and vintage homewares.
Victorian house, part home, part gallery, part museum designed to house their collection of artifacts from their travels.
110 locals recommend
Russell Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
West Cliff Promenade
110 locals recommend
Victorian house, part home, part gallery, part museum designed to house their collection of artifacts from their travels.
Award winning independent live music venue. Beautiful decor from local artists.
44 locals recommend
Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar
529 Christchurch Rd
44 locals recommend
Award winning independent live music venue. Beautiful decor from local artists.
Contemporary art gallery in a converted department store
Giant
Bourne Avenue
Contemporary art gallery in a converted department store

Food scene

A relaxed restaurant with a wood fired oven serving fresh fish, European dishes and with a 1920s cocktail bar upstairs to retire to. Our favourite place.
77 locals recommend
The Larder House
4 Southbourne Grove
77 locals recommend
A relaxed restaurant with a wood fired oven serving fresh fish, European dishes and with a 1920s cocktail bar upstairs to retire to. Our favourite place.
Inventive eco-focused small plates dishes (not Spanish-style tapas). Food is as local as possible, often brought in by cargo bike from a nearby farm. Has just won a Michelin Green Star (2022).
19 locals recommend
Terroir Tapas
81 Southbourne Grove
19 locals recommend
Inventive eco-focused small plates dishes (not Spanish-style tapas). Food is as local as possible, often brought in by cargo bike from a nearby farm. Has just won a Michelin Green Star (2022).
Fine dining with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Book far in advance for a weekend table!
21 locals recommend
Restaurant Roots
141 Belle Vue Rd
21 locals recommend
Fine dining with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Book far in advance for a weekend table!
Seafood restaurant just across the water at Studland.
92 locals recommend
Shell Bay Seafood Restaurant
Ferry Road
92 locals recommend
Seafood restaurant just across the water at Studland.
Modern country hotels and restaurants with kitchen gardens & their own pigs. The original Pig is in the New Forest at Brockenhurst,
147 locals recommend
The Pig
B3055
147 locals recommend
Modern country hotels and restaurants with kitchen gardens & their own pigs. The original Pig is in the New Forest at Brockenhurst,
Modern country hotels and restaurants with kitchen gardens & their own pigs. The Pig On The Beach is on the clifftop on Studland.
165 locals recommend
The Pig on the Beach
Manor Road
165 locals recommend
Modern country hotels and restaurants with kitchen gardens & their own pigs. The Pig On The Beach is on the clifftop on Studland.
Fine Dining with sea views in Mudeford
102 locals recommend
The Jetty
95 Mudeford
102 locals recommend
Fine Dining with sea views in Mudeford
Great cheeses, deli meats and fresh farm veg, eggs and milk. Fresh fish counter Friday & Saturday
Parlourmentary
7 Southbourne Grove
Great cheeses, deli meats and fresh farm veg, eggs and milk. Fresh fish counter Friday & Saturday
Fresh sourdough breads, amazing pastries and daily flavoured breads.
15 locals recommend
M's Bakery
805 Christchurch Rd
15 locals recommend
Fresh sourdough breads, amazing pastries and daily flavoured breads.
Fresh sourdough breads and cakes & coffee. Tuesday - Sunday 8am - 2pm
8 locals recommend
Bakehouse 24
154 Seabourne Rd
8 locals recommend
Fresh sourdough breads and cakes & coffee. Tuesday - Sunday 8am - 2pm
Independent wine merchant, hugely approachable & helpful with affordable prices (and some really special bottles if you want to push the boat out!)
Jolly Vintner Too
1099 Christchurch Rd
Independent wine merchant, hugely approachable & helpful with affordable prices (and some really special bottles if you want to push the boat out!)
A chippy that also does amazing specials like Steak Chimichurri, pulled pork burgers and if you’re lucky maybe some smoked brisket or Persian lamb. All their food is home made from scratch and we especially love the fresh salads & slaws they make. Great for a sunset dinner on the beach.
7 locals recommend
Ricky's
121-123 Belle Vue Road
7 locals recommend
A chippy that also does amazing specials like Steak Chimichurri, pulled pork burgers and if you’re lucky maybe some smoked brisket or Persian lamb. All their food is home made from scratch and we especially love the fresh salads & slaws they make. Great for a sunset dinner on the beach.
Great for brunch watching the waves.
149 locals recommend
Urban Reef - Seafront Restaurant in Bournemouth
Undercliff Drive
149 locals recommend
Great for brunch watching the waves.
For excellent coffee & vegan (and non vegan) breakfasts
46 locals recommend
Cafe Boscanova
650 Christchurch Rd
46 locals recommend
For excellent coffee & vegan (and non vegan) breakfasts
Tiny but with great coffee!
Espresso Kitchen Boscombe
651a Christchurch Road
Tiny but with great coffee!

City advice

Getting around

Beryl Bikes - Bike & electric scooter hire across town

Beryl Bikes https://beryl.cc/bikeshare/bournemouth-poole Bike & electric scooter hire across Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole. Bikes & scooters are Green and are parked in bays across the area, just unlock it with the app. You’ll need to verify ID with a driving licence for the scooters. (NB can’t be used on the prom 10am-6pm in July & August)
Getting around

Local taxi firm that also has an app!

United Taxis Tel: 01202 556677 https://556677.com/ Local taxi firm that also has an app you can use to prebook a car & track it (like Uber)
Getting around

Purbeck Breezer

The Purbeck Breezer is an open topped bus that runs on a number of routes from Bournemouth to Swanage via Sandbanks & Studland,Warham or Corfe Castle. Really scenic! https://www.morebus.co.uk/purbeck-breezer
Getting around

Bus operators

MoreBus https://www.morebus.co.uk/ Yellow Buses https://www.yellowbuses.co.uk/ Buses do take contactless but don’t share tickets