We’re huge followers of festive lights – lantern parades, illuminated gardens and fantastical installations that actually gentle up your faces and dance to their very own seasonal tune. They add a contact magic to the lengthy winter nights. The Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland is one such occasion.
*Commercial function – press journey*
Household information to Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland path
On this submit I’m sharing what you may anticipate when Bournemouth’s Christmas lights return this 12 months, together with every part it’s essential to know for a magical day trip or keep in Bournemouth.
What’s the Christmas Tree Wonderland?
Greater than 100 illuminations and light-weight installations run from the well-known pier, via the Victorian Decrease Gardens to an Alpine model market in The Sq., as much as the Triangle, Beale Place, Horseshoe Widespread and the Lansdowne roundabout.
Alongside the way in which there are road stalls and cafes promoting bratwurst, scorching chocolate, churros and the compulsory seaside ice cream, in addition to an ice skating rink.
On the path’s centre is Bournemouth’s personal walk-through Wonderland Tree stands 60ft tall with 30,000 individually programmed lights that carry out to music.
There will even be replicas of worldwide Christmas timber, representing cities from throughout the World. After we visited, the one modelled on Seattle’s tree was my favorite.
Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland map
Decide up a path map at one of many entrances to Decrease Gardens to ensure you don’t miss something. You may also discover the Christmas Tree Competition map on-line.
This 12 months’s map might be out there on the Wonderland web site when it launches.
Attending to Bournemouth’s Christmas lights
By automobile – there are many automobile parks in Bournemouth city centre. The PaybyPhone app is broadly used for automobile park and on road parking in Bournemouth.
By bus – Bournemouth buses cease close to the route of the Christmas Tree path. Bus stops to intention for are: Bournemouth Pier, Westover Highway, Bournemouth Sq., Wootton Gardens and Lansdowne.
By practice – Bournemouth Practice Station is a ten minute stroll from the path at Lansdowne roundabout. From right here you may observe the practice in the direction of the seafront.
How lengthy do you want for the Christmas Tree Wonderland path?
We spent six hours taking advantage of the entire expertise, beginning with ice skating when the rink opened at 10.30am and managing to maintain our women (aged six and four-years-old on the time) going lengthy sufficient to see the lights at nightfall.
What time do the lights come on in Bournemouth?
To see the lights at their highest arrive after 4pm when the sunshine and audio exhibits begin. These normally occur each half an hour between 4pm and 9pm.
Keep in mind that the path might be at its busiest after darkish, so may be tougher with younger youngsters.
There are a number of routes via or across the gardens and illuminations when you get caught in a crowd.
Is the Christmas Tree Wonderland free?
Sure! It’s FREE to stroll via Decrease Gardens and see the Christmas Tree Wonderland itself, however chances are you’ll wish to finances for a number of further actions to make it a particular Christmas day trip.
For an outline check out our Christmas Tree Wonderland Bournemouth video:
You may also wish to learn my information to Christmas occasions in Hampshire.
Extra issues to do at Christmas in Bournemouth
Right here’s some extra issues to do if you are having fun with a festive day trip in Bournemouth:
Bournemouth Christmas Market
Bournemouth Christmas Market is on this 12 months with meals and present stalls in an alpine setting round Bournemouth Sq..
There’s additionally an Alpine Bar and Apres Terrace.
Examine opening instances for the market.
Go to a pantomime in Bournemouth
There’s a pantomime at Bournemouth Pavilion each winter and so they all the time provide glowing units, lavish costumes, wonderful tune and dance numbers, comedy and baggage of viewers participation.
Discover out what’s on this 12 months.
Ice skating
Skate is an actual ice rink on the prime of Decrease Gardens. It was a very long time since both Mr Tin Field or I had been ice skating and the ladies had solely had a go on plastic rinks.
It’s protected to say skating was a success, regardless of me feeling like a child giraffe and everybody getting soggy socks.
The rink is outdoor so the rain from the night time earlier than had settled on the ice making the floor moist. However that didn’t detract from the skating expertise, which was implausible.
We booked for the ten.30am when the rink was quieter and there have been loads of skating aids. This was the perfect time to go for wobbly me and the youngsters who took a little bit of time to realize confidence on the ice.
In the meantime, Mr Tin Field shortly regained his skating abilities gained as a teen!
After skating it’s good enjoyable to go to the Alpine Bar which is connected to the rink. We will advocate a luxurious scorching chocolate for serving to you heat up. There’s additionally road meals, music and festive cubicles for chilling in after a skate.
Go to the Skate Bournemouth web site to seek out out opening instances and purchase ice skating tickets.
Smugglers Cove journey golf
This 18 gap journey golf course was nice enjoyable to do after lunch.
The staging is sensible and there have been some tremendous difficult holes that introduced out the aggressive streak in Mr Tin Field and I, even when the ladies had been content material with whacking the ball round as a lot as attainable.
Examine the Smugglers Cove web site for the newest opening instances and costs.
When you’ve got extra time within the space, try my information to issues to do in Poole and Bournemouth.
The place to eat in Bournemouth
There are road meals stalls on the seafront finish of Decrease Gardens, in the midst of the park and on the market on the prime. A scorching spot for seeing and being seen is the Alpine Bar.
If you wish to sit down for meals then the Promenade Cafe serves all kinds of snacks and meals together with a festive menu. That is the place we stopped for lunch and located there was one thing for everybody.
The women tucked right into a scorching canine, sausage roll and chips, whereas Mr Tin Field had the haloumi burger and I devoured a scrumptious Penang curry and rice.
The cafe is actually widespread, so get there early if you wish to bag a window seat with a sea view.
For those who select to go exterior Bournemouth city centre for lunch or dinner we are able to additionally advocate City Reef at Boscombe. We ate dinner there after seeing the Christmas timber.
I cherished consuming right here a few years in the past with associates and had excessive hopes that the meals was nonetheless simply nearly as good. We weren’t upset.
There’s a large selection of meals on the principle menu in addition to specials and a youngsters’s menu. I had mussels with probably the most unimaginable charcoal focaccia, and Mr Tin Field had brisket with a root vegetable casserole, mash and dumplings. The women each opted for a scrummy wanting pasta and meatballs.
After all, we couldn’t resist dessert. The pumpkin pie, cheese cake and chocolate brownies that adopted had been divine.
That is someplace to go for a particular meal with a sea view throughout the day and a comfortable, intimate environment at night time.
The place to remain
If, like us, you might be coming from additional afield for the Christmas Tree Wonderland in Bournemouth we are able to advocate staying at Bournemouth Seaside Lodges.
These bijou lodges come fashionable seashore huts accommodate as much as six folks proper on the seashore at Boscombe. We stayed for 2 nights and cherished the expertise of listening to the waves and having the golden sands inside touching distance.
Right here’s our Bournemouth Seaside Lodges assessment.
Discover extra locations to remain in Bournemouth on reserving.com.
On the lookout for extra issues to do close to Bournemouth? Check out my information to issues to do in Dorset with youngsters.
Disclosure: we had been invited to expertise the Christmas Tree Wonderland in Bournemouth as a part of an press journey. Our lodging, experiences and bills had been coated. All opinions are my very own and my household’s.