Signs of the times: good practice that avoids pitfalls

Why signage in public places can be an issue

Signage can be difficult to get right, irrespective of which industry you’re in. If I was to pick out common factors from those that I consider to be the most successful practitioners, I believe that the best examples offer a combination of clarity, visibility, consistency and common sense. So where do you find them, and what are the signage pitfalls in public places that must be avoided at all costs?

Why is signage important? The reasons are various, but the key points are that without the aid of physical signage, people can potentially get lost, be put to considerable inconvenience, or even get themselves into a potentially unsafe or vulnerable situation from a security point of view. No-one  wants that to happen to anyone at business premises, and that’s why it’s so important for businesses of all sizes to get right.

Who can demonstrate good practice?

In my initial ignorance about the subject, I didn’t fully appreciate that informational signage and way finding was such a big business, or that as a country we’re among the world leaders in this fiield. Then I visited the Liverpool waterfront last year, and saw the results of the wayfinding and signage project completed there in and around Albert Dock by Holmes-Wood, who describe themselves as ‘one of Britain’s leading companies working in direction, information and identity design’. Yes, that’s right, there are specialist signage consultancies out there, that can help you spend millions on ensuring that your signage is tailored to meet your precise business needs, and looks good as well.

However, even the smallest business can learn from good practice undertaken, not only in places where new signage was necessary as a result of major re-branding and urban regeneration projects, as in the case of Liverpool; but also from the signage displayed in other high traffic public places such as airports, shopping malls, and on the motorway network. The directional signage and branding developed initially for the  UK motorway network, and then the entire national road network of Britain by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert between 1957 and 1967, is now a recognised design classic, that has become a model for motorway and road signage internationally. It’s a mark of its success, that it’s still in use today.

Clarity is vital when it comnes to signage. Wherever possible it makes sense to make use of internationally recognised systems of symbolism, such as those used for hazardous chemicals, and health and safety signs. It becomes vital that warning signs can be understood at a glance, even when people don’t speak the  language, and can’t read written text. That’s why international signage conventions have developed, such as the use of the lower case letter ‘ i ‘ which is used as visual shorthand to designate tourist information centres worldwide.

Mistakes to avoid

On occasion signage can be percieved as patronising, irrelevant, or worse, can be seen as treating grown adults like naughty children. From time to time I come across such signs. Where signs are used inappropriately they have the potential to provoke a negative reaction, disappointment, confusion, fear or even annoyance, all emotions that are not good for business from a marketing point of view.

In general signs should be used only to communicate simple unambiguous messages that are relevant to everyone who sees them. Unless there is danger, or a possible threat to life or limb, any complicated scenarios, applicable to the minority of the people passing by, is probably best communicated by a different method, and ideally during the course of personal communication.

When things get complicated..

In hotels, where there is a plethora of information that needs to be communicated, and people have an expectation that they’ll receive guidance appropriate to their individual needs, it can be particularly challenging to ensure that guests receive all the information and reassurance they might need, at the same time as being politely encouraged to act on it. In this instance it’s sensible practice to offer an information folder in all guest rooms, and to serve up the answers to frequently asked questions in advance of guest arrival on websites; but that’s not usually enough.

Signs can act as a catch all to help businesses communicate information; but they should not always be relied on or used alone. Some instructions, for example about responsible energy use,  can cause resentment or negative attitude on the part of the paying customer.

With businesses increasingly looking to give their business a ‘green edge’ and promote responsible tourism, it can be hard to find the right tone of voice, and form of words to encourage responsible attitudes to such issues as noise, energy use and contentious areas such as daily replacement of towels and bedding, with signage alone.

Tried and tested strategies

However you look at it, signs have a tendency to lecture because you can’t ignore them. One alternative approach is to draw people’s attention to where they can find information available (but not try to compel them to take notice); and you can invite people to be responsible about their energy usage for rational reasons, rather than posting signage that seems to demand compliance. A self catering opearator I know leaves a copy of the paperback book ‘One Planet Living’ in her cottages, and offers copies for sale to those who express interest. She’s found that this works well.

Offering a reward for compliant behaviour is a further strategy that can be adopted to persuade people to change their habits or encourage reponsible behaviour. I’ve come across hotels that reward guests who leave their car in the car park all day when they go out, with free tea and cakes when they return. Another goes out of her way to explain how to reach local attractions by public transport.  There’s no doubt though, that it can be a challenge to get people to do things the way you want. One thing is for sure, although signage can help, I certainly don’t think it will ever be the only answer.

What do you think? Marketing is about everything that helps a business to identify and satisfy customer needs profitably.  Contact Manifold Associates if you’re a business having difficulty in identifying the most appropriate form of  words and images to explain your business philosophy in your marketing communications. We also help businesses through the process of rationalising and communicating the reasons for people to do business with them; and deliver training on marketing your green credentials.

Until next time…

Ahoy there! Summer fun afloat in Maidstone (and southern England)

Cowes Week

According to the British Marine Federation only 2.73% of the UK population own some sort of boat, which makes it a somewhat minority interest. However, half the country’s population live within five miles of a canal or river, 11 million people regularly visit  inland waterways every year, and there are more than 32,000 registered boats on the water. Even if you’re a’ landlubber’ this is the best week of the entire summer for the casual visitor to get (albeit temporarily) interested in boating,  and heading for the waterfront  somewhere, whether it’s the coast, or a navigable river.

This week is Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight, just off the south coast of England in Hampshire. More information about Cowes Week. The Isle of Wight is one of my favourite places, although I have to admit I prefer to go there out of season when it’s less busy. Cowes Week is the highlight of peak season. More information about visiting the Isle of Wight.

Maidstone River Festival

In Britain you’re never very far from a river or the coast, and this year for the first time I decided to take the opportunity to visit this year’s Maidstone River Festival, to find out if this annual nautical carnival has anything to offer the casual visitor, as opposed to the convinced ‘yachtie’ type who owns their own boat.  Although it’s on an inland river, and on a much smaller scale than Cowes, as a landlubber myself, I still found it good fun. The serious yachties moor up days in advance, and die hard fans who sail  up the Medway to Maidstone in their own boats, decorate them in line with an annual theme – which this year was the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the WW2 Dunkirk evacuation (masterminded from Dover Castle in Kent, by Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay, a  distant family relation).

I’d been tipped off that the highlight of the entire Maidstone River Festival weekend is always the Saturday afternoon raft race, and that’s what drew me to visit. I watched as teams of amateurs in fancy dress first contest a competition for best turned out raft, and then race on their home made craft, against the current, upstream from Whatmans Park to old Maidstone bridge, next to the county town’s law courts.  Having completed the race, which was won this year by Maidstone Canoe Club in ‘HMS Thrust’, competitors take turns to try and sink each others craft with flour bombs and jets of water, as they turn and drift back downstream to the start, to the evident delight and amusement of spectators lining the banks, and looking down from the bridges spanning the course (the best vantage point for taking photos).

The event co-incides with a funfair at Lockmeadow; and all along the town centre towpath, and in the car park near All Saints Church, are stalls selling fast food, raffle tickets and other trinkets, and stages with live musical entertainment. It was a lovely sunny day, and I also made another interesting discovery a new waterside restaurant, ‘The Barge,’ moored up adjacent to The Archbishops Palace, which looked like a nice place for riverside dining with a bit more style, inside and out. I plan to give it a try before the summer’s out, although it says on the website that it’s open year round!

There are a couple of other nautical diversions on offer in summer in Maidstone that are likely to be of particular interest to the casual visitor. These include one hour cruises downriver from central Maidstone to Kent Life heritage farm and museum of rural life, on the paddle steamer Allington Belle, which also operates two hour summer evening cruises from the Malta Inn Beefeater and adjacent Premier Inn at Sandling on Wednesdays and Friday evenings at 7.30 pm (booking essential). Motor cruiser Kentish Lady is a family business also operating trips to Kent Life, and they also offer 3 hour trips up the Medway to Teston Lock and back. I’ve walked along the towpath in this area, and can recommend the rural scenery you’ll encounter. For dates and times check the website.

More summer fun afloat in Dorset
Back on the south coast, if you’re looking for something a bit different, the summer barbecue cruise on Saturday nights at 7pm from Tuckton Bridge on the lower reaches of the rivers Stour and Avon in Christchurch, is an interesting propostion on a warm evening, with a one hour trip on the river followed by a barbecue and New Forest Ice cream. More information or phone for details on 01202 429119. A riverside table at the Captains Club Hotel on the river Stour might be a safer (but more expensive) bet if the weather looks a bit iffy.  For those game enough for a more nautical adventure, how about a boat trip out across Christchurch Harbour for a ‘Safari supper’ at the Beach House Cafe on Hengistbury Head. The next one is scheduled for August 13th, but you can also get out to this idyllic location the long way round, via the land train that operates from the main car park at Hengistbury Head, as well as by ferry from Mudeford Quay. Whenever the weather is fine, they put flags up to show from a distance that they’re open.

Expect the weather to play an important part in the success of such ventures as these. Experience suggests that there’s often a last minute flood of bookings in fine weather; but advance booking is vital to be sure of a place whenever such trips do go ahead. My advice is always to enquire well in advance, and, if you’re ever in a position to make recommendations about boat trips, include a caveat about watching the weather forecast, as safety is always paramount, and trips can get cancelled at short notice.

Looking for inspiration or help with marketing ?

If you seek nautical adventure, boat sales or hire for yourself or your customers in your local area, the definitive guides to navigable inland waterways in Britain, including the ‘River Thames and southern waterways’ edition, are published by Collins/Nicholson and available online from retailers such as Amazon.

If you’re a tourism business looking for new marketing ideas, Virtual Viv could help you. We can inspire you by sharing case studies, and can teach you basic DIY marketing skills. Contact us for more information.

Until next time…

A snapshot of English summer – on the beach

The coast of England, and many of its towns, popularly known as ‘seaside resorts’ are undergoing something of a renaissance; and I saw more evidence for myself on a vist to Dorset earlier this week.

Background briefing
I bet you didn’t know that Scarborough in Yorkshire was established as the first English seaside resort as early as 1626, when a Mrs Elizabeth Farrow discovered a stream of acidic water running from one of the cliffs south of the town, giving birth to Scarborough Spa, which soon began attracting many visitors to take the waters there. In addition  medical experts including Richard Russell  in 1750 cottoned on to the idea of recommending the health benefits of bathing in Brighton salt water.

Ironically  the health benefits of bathing in salt and mineral rich water in places like Thermae Bath Spa (which I wrote about in September last year) is once again being recognised today -  illustrated by the successful marketing, and efficacy of  natural salt and mineral products sourced from places like the Dead Sea, years after consumers began to sneer at luridly coloured bath salts and bath cubes (remember them!) marketed in  1960s and 70s Britain, and poor sales plummeted the concept into temporary oblivion.

People were only able to travel long distances from urban and industrial concentrations of population to English seaside resorts in large numbers following the arrival of the railways, (which first came to Scarborough in 1845); although a few other easily accessible southern coastal towns such as Bognor Regis, Margate, and Brighton and other more northerly centres such as Morecambe and Skegness had begun to develop an initially local following amongst gentry and royalty. Only the wealthy could afford the expense of travelto the coast by stage coach or carriage, and later, paddle steamer, to escape the stifling and stinking summers suffered in great conurbations like Manchester and London, during the industrial revolution.

Bournemouth, where I found myself last week, is 200 years old this year. The heyday of English seaside resorts, when people came in their droves to enjoy the beaches, amusements and nightlife, ran roughly from the coming of the railway in the mid Victorian era, to the advent of package holidays in the 1970s. Then even the most well established and up market English resorts, including places like Bournemouth, and Torquay in Devon, began to notice the family market for long summer holiday breaks suffering a noticeable decline. The   visitor economy of coastal towns was forced to become more reliant on income from day visitors and people travelling on short breaks  by car as well as train, as the masses increasingly started jetting off to roast on the beach under virtually guaranteed Mediterranean sun.

From the early 1970s, holiday packages at affordable prices were provided by operators such as Thomson, Horizon and Clarksons, and the market for them literally took off, to the detriment of English seaside resorts. It soon necessitated the most seriously affected local authorities in English resorts trying to identify ways and means of regenerating themselves and appealing to new markets. The consequence was a process of re-invention which continues to this day.

The inside track on the rejuvenation of Bournemouth

I saw first hand what happened in Bournemouth in the 1970s, as I was living there as a student at the time. Undoubtedly it was one of the luckier English coastal towns, being blessed with a superb location, on a sweeping bay of golden sand sheltered by low cliffs, punctuated by narrow pathways called ‘chines’. These features allow direct pedestrian access to the beach from the town, which is dotted attractively with pine trees and public gardens.

It also helps that the coast around here enjoys spectacular views, with the protective chalk downlands of Purbeck along the western horizon, the Isle of Wight to the south east, and the New Forest National Park on its eastern fringe, which come together to make Bournemouth a great touring base.

The problem has always been that in England it can rain, even in summer. In the 1970s people who’d grown up used to wet weeks in the English west country, wanted a summer holiday with uninterrupted sunshine, something that seems to have far less importance nowadays. In fact what we now appreciate is that occasional rain has the benefit of keeping the surrounding English countryside relatively green in summer, compared to Mediterranean countries!

For a while, in 1970s Bournemouth, as in other coastal towns, misfits, substance abusers and social outcasts started to move in to vacant accommodation in the more run down area around the Lansdowne and Boscombe. In Bournemouth it was initially the success of English language schools, such as Anglo Continental in Wimborne Road; and later the new University campus at Wallisdown, that helped to turn things around, bringing in large numbers of  students, many coming initially to learn the language; and incidentally taking advantage of the inexpensive accommodation on offer (then). Many enjoyed their time in the town so much that they stayed on after their studies to work in the area, adding to the cosmopolitan atmosphere, and helping to secure Bournemouth’s  future success.

The Bournemouth International Centre then opened in 1984 to replace the ageing  Winter Gardens on the West Cliff, and The Pavilion (which has now been restored) in the centre of town, as a conference venue. This helped bring in more year-round business, and prevented the defection of valuable regular business from political party conferences and other organised groups, as well as providing a new venue for concerts by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, contemporary musicians and other events and productions.

It’s undoubtedly helped that Bournemouth has had a lot of great PR for high profile seafront housing development, especially in Branksome and the Sandbanks Peninsula; but also for the regenerated Boscombe area and its controversial surf beach, which I wrote about in November last year. Although coverage received by this latter project has been more mixed, from the evidence of my recent visits I still think it’s likely to be destined for long term success, assuming that the surf reef’s remaining teething problems can be successfully ironed out. The town has also helped put itself on the map with regular open air continental markets held in The central Square, and The Bournemouth Balloon, a tethered installation which ascends to a height of over 150 metres, and allows spectacular views up to 20 miles distant from its base in the Lower Gardens.

Similar spectacular coastal view experiences are also available at Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays and Brighton is planning a new tower, i360 at West Pier.

Summer 2010 highlights

If you’re looking to hire a surf pod at Boscombe surf beach or a beach hut on your visit to Bournemouth this summer you can book online subject to availability on the Visit Bournemouth website.

You’ll also find some great beachfront cafes strung out along Bournemouth Bay. When I visited the excellent Bistro on the Beach at Southbourne for lunch on a cloudy Wednesday last week, there were no window tables left by 12.45, so if you want one make sure you get there early! They also open for breakfast and for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays, and a new takeaway kiosk has opened for the first time there this year. There’s another well located beachfront cafe at Branksome, and the exclusive Cafe Shore at Sandbanks looks great, but I haven’t actually tried either personally, as yet.

If you want an adrenaline rush and a ‘guaranteed bad hair day’ during your visit, it’s on offer on high speed powerboat trips around Bournemouth Bay and further afield, at Adventure cruises of Christchurch, based at nearby Mudeford Quay. Bournemouth Air Festival, an annual event in August offers a more exciting land based spectacle.

I understand that day trips to Bournemouth, and Weymouth, location of the sailing events for the London 2012 games, by steam train from London are available on limited dates this summer. More information. I have no experience of this operator, so my mention of this service cannot constitute a recommendation.

If you like what I write
If you’re part of an organisation looking to outsource PR or marketing services, or want help with your digital content strategy, my company Manifold Associates could provide the solution you’re looking for.  We’re happy to work with existing suppliers in a collaborative environment, and can work with your team to identify and brief new types of specialist service providers you might need, such as professional photographers. Contact us for more information.

Until next time…

Be a bystander in 2012… or sail into history?

A question of salt

This weekend I came to stay in Maldon Essex, somewhere I’d never been to before. I already knew about Maldon salt of course, I use it myself in cooking.  I half expected to see the salt factory, and take a tour, but there was no signage in evidence in the town, and there’s nothing on the website to indicate that it’s possible to visit, just lots of information including a video presentation about the manufacturing process, and a history of the business.

It was a sunny day, so, instead, based on a vague notion that Maldon must be on the coast or a tidal river,  I strolled down the High Street in seach of the quay from my base at the Blue Boar Hotel, a photogenic old coaching inn. Full of character, I was amazed to discover it even has its own on-site Farmers brewery, and, on the day I visited, a beer festival was in progress to re-inforce the point!

Summer attractions on the Hythe at Maldon

Passing by way of the well signposted local visitor information office, which although closed, distributes a free local guide, I soon found the quay, passing historic St Mary’s church on the way.

The Hythe is a lively place with several waterfront pubs, and posters advertising crabbing competitions (with monetary prizes) and other exciting sounding children’s adventure activities taking place locally. More information about visiting Maldon.

On the day I was there, river cruises were operating on the tidal river Blackwater, although I was unfortunately too late in the day to join one. However, one other interesting thing I found were plenty of advertisements from a company called Topsail Charters,  offering various adventures on board historic Thames Sailing Barges, one of which was tied up alongside the quay.

About Thames Sailing barges

I’ve discovered that, in their heyday, around 1860, there were up to 5,000 of these fine old ships, with their distinctive red ochre sails, operating as cargo vessels on the east coast of Britain, with the last few working until the 1960s. In Maldon the version known as a ‘stackie’ was used to transport bales of straw and hay, stacked to a level halfway up the mast, away from local arable farms.

Built for ease of handling, with a mast that pivots to allow them to sail under relatively low bridges, Thames Sailing Barges have a shallow draft and flat bottom. This means that they can rest without support on mudflats at low tide, in the shallow tidal rivers and creeks that are found along the Thames estuary. At the turn of the twentieth century the sailing barge fleet still numbered over 2,000 – but today only a handful of these traditional barges survive, restored and converted for leisure usage.

More pictures of sailing barges

Onboard adventures

With prices advertised for Maldon departures starting at £17 per head for a two hour two island cruise to £30 for a 3 and a half hour trip with a traditional ploughmans and apple crumble lunch, a cruise onboard a Thames Sailing Barge can be an attractive proposition. There are also various options for birdwatching cruises (sailing is almost silent, remember); and you can even hire out a barge out of season for a static self catering weekend if you’re worried about seasickness.

There are options for everything from team building events, to weddding receptions held aboard Thames Sailing barges. They’re available from Ipswich, London, Maldon or Tilbury, with operation broadly possible on the east coast of Britain between Aldeburgh in the north, down to Faversham in Kent in the south. More information and full details.
There is also a Thames sailing barge based at Whitstable in Kent offering summer cruises. More information

Thames estuary summer racing schedule

For a real adventure and fantastic photo opportunities, you can watch Thames sailing barge match races , held each summer.  Here are the remaining dates of the to be held in the summer of 2010:

* July 3 Thames (Gravesend)
* August 7 Swale (Faversham)
* August 28 Southend
* September 4 Colne (Brightlingsea)

Book well in advance if you’re interested in joining a racing barge for the day (for safety reasons on board participation is not permitted). Some of the races can also be followed on a spectator boat. These are annual events, so  check online for dates announced for future years.  Spaces for 2012 are likely to be particularly in demand in the weeks immediately prior to the London games, so I’d recommend planning ahead.

London 2012  – opening ceremony news

This week it’s been announced that Oscar-winning Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry, will direct and produce the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the London 2012 Games. Find out how to register your interest in booking tickets.

A standalone production company, London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd, has now been set up and will be based in Three Mills Studio near the Olympic Park in East London, which I saw on a recent visit. For more information about what’s happening on on the ground in East London and at the Olympic Park at the moment, see my previous post dated May 25 on the subject, visit the London 2012 website or Inside the Games, a news site.

How Viv can help you

There will be increasing media interest in stories about tourism and the UK visitor economy during the run up to London 2012 . Commission me to help you with writing  about, filming or  photographing your destination or business, or simply researching and writing punchy copy about newsworthy events you’re involved in organising.

I’ll cut to the quick and won’t go over the top with waffle, puff  or hyperbole. A true content strategist, I can package up information in the form of anything from website content or advertorials, to news releases or video scripts, to match your end user needs.  I’ll take real pride in doing a great job, so why not contact me at Manifold Associates to find out more.

Until next time…

At the cutting edge: Bournemouth Surf Reef

What’s new in Bournemouth

This week I’ve been in Bournemouth. I decided to take a trip to see for myself how this well known coastal town has been developing new world class facilities, and re-positioning itself to increase its appeal to today’s more demanding,  well travelled customers. These include not only international visitors to Britain; but also UK residents, who are starting to think twice before they travel, may feel guilty about their carbon emissions, and are considering spending more of their precious leisure time  in the UK, avoiding the hassles of airport queues and security checks, if only they can find places where they feel happy to hang out.

I took a look at how the Bournemouth area is trying to grab market share, and  found evidence all over town. One of the first things I heard was news of the opening of a hot new concept ‘at home’ John Lewis store in Branksome, already proving popular with locals and those in the know. 

My first stop was the newly opened Bournemouth Surf Reef which has now been sucessfully anchored offshore immediately east of Boscombe pier. Arriving at around 9.30am, I parked in the deserted Sea Road car park and strolled down the steps, past the pier and the Neptune Harvester restaurant, and onto the promenade in front of the Overstrand building. This is a 1950s building, which has benefited from an £11M revamp. From what I saw it’s starting to look like this investment,  and the surf reef itself, will pay off and put the formerly run down Boscombe area of town firmly back on the map, although, in the recession, probably not quite as fast as the developers hoped.

Why all the fuss about a reef?

Already here is the Urban Reef Cafe Bar and deli, the Surf Reef store, where you can buy all the gear, including body boards for first timers, a lifeguard post and the celebrated ‘Surf Pods’, retro styled beach huts for surfers. They’ve been created by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway – creators of the Red or Dead fashion brand. Although some have already been sold, many of the pods are still available for  sale – at £64,995 for a single pod and £89,995 for a double, (through Savills or Goadsby). 17 are being made available for rental, at £1,958 for the whole summer or £600 per 2 week period. More information.

A personal view

Looking out to sea east of the 1950s concrete pier at Boscombe, all that’s immediately visible of the underwater reef,  the size of a football pitch, is a series of marker buoys bobbing in the water just over 200 metres from the shore. There were no surfers on the beach at that hour, on the grey day I visited; but the lifeguard vehicle was already pulled up on the promenade, the shops were starting to open, and the Urban Reef cafe already had a handful of well wrapped up customers sipping cappucinos to keep warm on the terrace, overlooking a wide sandy beach that looked lovingly manicured. My view is that everything is now in place for it to get really popular, perhaps by next summer. Learn more about construction of the reef.

Shops at the pier have already cottoned on to the interests of the new type of clientele the area is starting to attract. I spotted a nice line in retro postcards from J Salmon on sale at one of the pier shops (retailers please note : I think these could prove popular). I bought one myself, entitled ‘Mad Hutters’, on the theme of beach huts.

Read comment from the Bournemouth Evening Echo and local surfers on the opening day of the Surf Reef 3 November 2009.
Further information: equipment hire and surfing lessons.
current surf conditions

Some places to stay

The regeneration of Boscombe is already having a ripple effect. Up Sea Road from Boscombe pier, and 3rd on the left you’ll find Argyll Road, home of the Urban Beach Hotel, which I noted from an advertising sign on the promenade, is ‘the coolest place I ever stayed’ according to Frank Skinner. A dull November day was however, probably not the best day on which to make a judgement from the outside alone! I think parking could be a problem in the immediate area by next summer; but did notice that there’s a bus stop by the pier, advertising a Park and Ride service from Boscombe bus station.

Bournemouth is certainly at the cutting edge when it comes to enterprising hoteliers. It’s also home to what’s claimed to be the world’s only chocolate themed boutique hotel. Find it hidden away on Durley Road over on the West Cliff side of town. Please note that I haven’t actually tried out the accommodation at either of these places, so I take no responsibility if you decide to try them out; but if you do, I’d be interested to hear your opinion. There’s a massive choice of hotels in the area to suit all budgets. and you can always check Trip Adviser for reviews.

However, one hotel in the area that I have stayed at, and can therefore recommend personally, (although it’s actually in nearby Christchurch), is The Captains Club. It’s a stylish contemporary riverside hotel, with a spa and an excellent fine dining restaurant.

Alternatively, if your budget’s not a problem, I can also recommend the Chewton Glen Hotel, a member of Relais and Chateaux, which is also fairly close by in New Milton.

Eating out in the Bournemouth area

This visit I took the opportunity to visit the old art deco former Bournemouth Evening Echo office on Richmond Hill in the centre of town, which has been turned into The Ink Bar and  Print Room restaurant. It’s brilliant. Great atmosphere. After hitting the shops around Bournemouth Square, their 2 course business lunch really hit the spot (£40 for two including drinks). Our waiter told us that they’re running a  2 for 1 offer on afternoon tea until the end of November. Do go if you get the chance. They also have special opera and flamenco evenings coming up before the end of the year. My sister, who’s a journalist and knows these things, told me that Bill Bryson once worked here, when it was still the Bournemouth Evening Echo office.

Another favourite restaurant of mine, with a lovely view of the sea, albeit even further out of town, is Pebble Beach, Barton On Sea Alternatively if you’re looking for something more rustic with cosy seclusion in the nearby New Forest National Park, try High Corner at Linwood, which can be somewhat challenging to find! Both places also offer accommodation. Restaurants with rooms offer an increasingly popular option.

So, as you can see, things are definitely changing down at the great British seaside. Bournemouth is by no means alone, as an increasing number of coastal towns and cities are seeking to widen their appeal and tap into new markets. Portsmouth is a place which I’ll have to talk about on another occasion…

Here are a few more photos. As you can see the weather was not too good on the day I visited!

Until next time…