Bournemouth: The Perfect Location for a Wintertime Nature Holiday!

Most beach towns tend to be predictably deserted during the winter. With the funfairs gone, ice cream stalls closed and the beaches themselves cold and inhospitable, many Britons assume there is no reason to go to a seaside resort during winter, unless one happens to live there.

One of the most famous beach resorts in Britain during the summer months, Bournemouth becomes a nature lover’s paradise once winter rolls around. Dorset is one of the regions of the United Kingdom most readily associated with natural beauty, and its largest town is no exception. Quite aside from the sprawling, sandy beaches – a rarity in Britain – the city and its surrounding areas offer more than enough by way of activities, walks and hikes to satisfy any nature lover; in fact, Bournemouth can definitely be considered an underrated location for a wintertime nature holiday.

The City Gardens

Not only does Bournemouth offer plenty of opportunities for both locals and visitors to commune with nature, but this effect can be achieved without ever leaving the city centre. The Bournemouth Central, Upper and Lower Gardens are a hit with visitors during the summer, but anyone taking a stroll through them during the off-season will find that they are no less alluring in colder weather.

The verdant, luxurious greens of summer may be replaced with the whites and greys of frost and snow, but the overall effect is no less enchanting or charming than what can be observed during the summer; much to the contrary, in fact.

In addition, what tends to be quite a busy area during the warmer months is far quieter during the winter, offering more chances for introspection and reflexion – a trait which tends to be appreciated, if not actively sought after, by many of the people who enjoy a stroll in the park during wintertime.

The Gardens of Light Festival

Those looking for something a little more visually impacting than frosted benches and shrubs will be happy to learn that Bournemouth’s gardens light up for a number of nights every winter, as the Gardens of Light Festival takes over the town centre. This yearly event sees over 23,000 festive lights be hung from the trees and shrubs of Bournemouth’s city gardens, to be admired at leisure by evening strollers and passers-by.

Visitors to the town’s parks this year will also have the chance to engage in a bout of ice skating, as a rink will be set up in the city gardens as part of the same festival. An après-skate refreshments chalet, offering seasonal favourites such as hot chocolate and mulled wine, provides the perfect final touch to an evening’s experience, and makes the Bournemouth Gardens of Light festival a mandatory stop for anyone visiting the city this winter!

Hiking and Biking

Those seeking something a little less manufactured and even further removed from an urban environment also have plenty of options to engage in while taking a winter nature break in Bournemouth. The nearby New Forest, for instance, offers a vast expanse of woodland area to explore and get lost in – in the best possible sense of the word. Stretching across a considerable area of South East England, mainly within the county of Hampshire, this forest area is easily accessible from any of our hotels in Bournemouth, and could make for an excellent destination for a day or weekend of hiking!

Alternatively, visitors wishing to stay closer to their home base have the option of going for a cycle along Bournemouth’s sprawling shoreline. Biking is not permitted along the seaside in summer, due to the high volume of beachcombers it would directly impact and affect, but the far quieter off-season months provide a great opportunity to take in the seaside vistas from the seat of a two-wheeler, and get some exercise in the process!

Once it sheds its summery beach resort skin, Bournemouth becomes a surprisingly good home base for holidaymakers wishing to engage in a nature break or discover Dorset’s natural beauty. In turn, each of our five hotels in Bournemouth can serve as the perfect home away from home for tourists and visitors wishing to take in the area’s wintry beauty, and should therefore be considered a definite accommodation option for those seeking to book a nature break in Dorset this winter!