Always had a soft spot for Bournemouth which I think stems back to travelling the Middle East in my younger days, my aspirations of meeting a dusky exotic maiden were dashed after falling hopelessly in love with a dancer from Bournemouth of all places. Incidentally, Nahariya in Northern Israel is twinned with Bournemouth, I think because of it being a seaside resort of similar population, rather than the number of rocket attacks.
Thirty years after that I had a boat in Poole harbour for two years, enjoyed Poole, the quay and the pubs, but always took time to visit Bournemouth, like Newquay in Cornwall it became a bit of haven for stag and hen do's, but despite that the gardens running through the town were always lovely, the big Chinese restaurant not too far from the main pier, and the department store who's name escapes me but I think may have shut down since then, enjoyed our visits there.
