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Mild amongst the capitals in this list, though slightly cooler for NW Europe and wetter there too with the capitals around the British Isles getting most of the rain, though not large amounts it has to be said.Bulgaria`s Sofia is down to its last 2 cm of snow which leaves just Bucharest in Romania left with any white stuff on the ground with 15cm from this list
Bournemouth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article is about a town in the United Kingdom. For other uses, see Bournemouth (disambiguation).
| Bournemouth | |
|---|---|
| — Unitary, Borough — | |
 Aerial view of Bournemouth town centre | |
 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South West England |
| Ceremonial county | Dorset |
| Founded | |
| Admin. HQ | Bournemouth |
| Government | |
| • Type | Bournemouth Borough Council |
| • Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| • Executive: | Conservative |
| • MPs: | Conor Burns, Tobias Ellwood |
| • Mayor | Christopher Rochester |
| Area | |
| • Total | 17.83 sq mi (46.18 km2) |
| Area rank | 276th |
| Population (2010 est.) | |
| • Total | 168,100 |
| • Rank | Ranked 104th |
| • Density | 9,400/sq mi (3,600/km2) |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | British Summer Time (UTC+1) |
| Postcode | |
| ISO 3166-2 | |
| ONS code | 00HN |
| OS grid reference | |
| NUTS 3 | |
| Ethnicity | 96.7% White |
| Website | www.bournemouth.gov.uk |
pronunciation (help·info)) is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth. With Poole and Christchurch, Bournemouth forms the South East Dorset conurbation, which has a total population of approximately 400,000.Founded in 1810 by Lewis Tregonwell, Bournemouth's growth accelerated with the arrival of the railway, becoming a recognised town in 1870. Historically part of Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974. Since 1997 the town has been administered by a unitary authority, meaning that it has autonomy from Dorset County Council. The local authority is Bournemouth Borough Council.
Bournemouth's location on the south coast of England has made it a popular destination for tourists. The town is a regional centre of business, home of the Bournemouth International Centre and financial companies that include Liverpool Victoria and PruHealth.
In a 2007 survey by First Direct, Bournemouth was found to be the happiest place in the UK, with 82% of people questioned saying they were happy with their lives.[1]
| Contents [show] |
[edit] Geography
Bournemouth Beach and Boscombe Pier Bournemouth is located 105 miles (169 km) southwest of London at 
50.72°N 1.88°WCoordinates: 50.72°N 1.88°W. The urban geography of Bournemouth is complex: the town adjoins Poole in the west and Christchurch in the east to form the South East Dorset conurbation. The combined population is 383,713, and it is a retail and commercial centre. To the north west of Bournemouth is the small town of Wimborne and to the north east is the settlement of Ferndown. Bournemouth Airport lies to the north east, towards Hurn. The town is intersected by the A338 dual carriageway, known as the "Wessex Way".Although Bournemouth is on the coast, the centre of the town lies inland - the commercial and civil heart of the town being the Square. From the Square the Upper and Lower Pleasure Gardens descend to the seafront and the pier. Areas within Bournemouth include Bear Cross, Boscombe, Kinson, Pokesdown, Westbourne and Winton. Traditionally a large retirement town, Bournemouth (mostly the Northbourne, Southbourne and Tuckton areas of Bournemouth together with the Wallisdown, and Talbot Village areas of Poole) has seen massive growth in recent years, especially through the growth of students attending Bournemouth University and the large number of language schools teaching English as a foreign language.
Bournemouth is located directly to the east of the Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile (153 km) section of beautiful and largely unspoilt coastline recently designated a World Heritage Site. Apart from the beauty of much of the coastline, the Jurassic Coast provides a complete geological record of the Jurassic period and a rich fossil record.[2] Bournemouth sea front overlooks Poole Bay and the Isle of Wight. Bournemouth also has 7 miles (11 km) of sandy beaches that run from Hengistbury Head in the east to Sandbanks, in Poole, in the west.
Because of the coastal processes that operate in Poole Bay, the area is often used for surfing. An artificial reef (Europe's first) was expected to be installed at Boscombe, in Bournemouth, by October 2008, using large sand-filled geotextile bags. However, this deadline was not met, and the construction was actually finished at the end of October 2009. The Boscombe Reef was constructed as part of the larger Boscombe Spa Village development.[3] Bournemouth also has several chines (e.g. Alum Chine) that lead down to the beaches and form a very attractive feature of the area. The beaches are subdivided by groynes.
[edit] Climate
Due to its location on the south coast, Bournemouth has a temperate climate with moderate variation in annual and daily temperatures: from 1971 to 2000 the annual mean temperature was 10.2 to 12 °C (50 to 54 °F).[4] The warmest months are July and August, which have an average temperature range of 12 to 22 °C (54 to 72 °F), while the coolest months are January and February, which have an average temperature range of 1 to 8 °C (34 to 46 °F). Average rainfall in Bournemouth is around 800 mm (31 in) annually, well below the national average of 1,126 millimetres. Since 1960, temperature extremes as measured at Bournemouth Hurn Airport have ranged from 34.1 °C (93.4 °F) in August 1990,[5] down to −13.4 °C (7.9 °F) in January 1963.[6] The lowest temperatures to be recorded in recent years were −10.4 °C (13.3 °F) during December 2010 and −10.8 °C (12.6 °F) on 4th February 2012.[7]
| [hide]Climate data for Bournemouth Hurn 10m asl, 1971-2000, Extremes 1960- | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) | 15.3 (59.5) | 21.0 (69.8) | 25.0 (77.0) | 27.6 (81.7) | 33.8 (92.8) | 33.9 (93.0) | 34.1 (93.4) | 27.9 (82.2) | 25.2 (77.4) | 17.6 (63.7) | 16.0 (60.8) | 34.1 (93.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.1 (46.6) | 8.3 (46.9) | 10.6 (51.1) | 13.0 (55.4) | 16.6 (61.9) | 19.3 (66.7) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.8 (71.2) | 18.8 (65.8) | 15.0 (59.0) | 11.2 (52.2) | 9.0 (48.2) | 14.5 (58.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | 2.4 (36.3) | 3.4 (38.1) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.6 (52.9) | 11.3 (52.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 6.6 (43.9) | 3.3 (37.9) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.7 (42.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −13.4 (7.9) | −10.9 (12.4) | −10.2 (13.6) | −5.7 (21.7) | −3.6 (25.5) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.6 (36.7) | 2.1 (35.8) | −1.4 (29.5) | −6.4 (20.5) | −9.6 (14.7) | −10.5 (13.1) | −13.4 (7.9) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 89 (3.5) | 65 (2.56) | 65 (2.56) | 51 (2.01) | 48 (1.89) | 56 (2.2) | 37 (1.46) | 52 (2.05) | 72 (2.83) | 88 (3.46) | 87 (3.43) | 103 (4.06) | 812.7 (31.996) |
| Sunshine hours | 62 | 79 | 118 | 176 | 216 | 213 | 228 | 218 | 155 | 117 | 81 | 56 | 1,720 |
| Source no. 1: MeteoFrance[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute[9] | |||||||||||||
History
Main article: History of Bournemouth
A statue near the seafront, of Lewis Tregonwell, the founder of the original settlement which became Bournemouth. The Dorset and Hampshire region surrounding Bournemouth has been the site of human settlement for thousands of years. However, in 1800 the Bournemouth area was largely a remote and barren heathland. No one lived at the mouth of the Bourne River and the only regular visitors were a few fishermen, turf cutters and gangs of smugglers until the 16th century. During the Tudor period the area was used as a hunting estate, 'Stourfield Chase', but by the late 18th century only a few small parts of it were maintained, including several fields around the Bourne Stream and a cottage known as Decoy Pond House, which stood near where the Square is today.[13]
Photochrom of Invalids' walk, 1890s With the exception of the estate, until 1802 most of the Bournemouth area was common land. The Christchurch Inclosures Act 1802 and the Inclosure Commissioners' Award of 1805 transferred hundreds of acres into private ownership for the first time. In 1809, the Tapps Arms public house appeared on the heath. A few years later, in 1812, the first residents, retired army officer Lewis Tregonwell and his wife, moved into their new home built on land he had purchased from Sir George Ivison Tapps. Tregonwell began developing his land for holiday letting by building a series of sea villas.[13] In association with Tapps, he planted hundreds of pine trees, providing a sheltered walk to the beach (later to become known as the 'Invalids walk'). The town would ultimately grow up around its scattered pines. In 1832 when Tregonwell died, Bournemouth had grown into small community with a scattering of houses, villas and cottages.[13]
Bournemouth Town Hall was built in the Victorian period, originally serving as a hotel for visitors to the town. In 1835, after the death of Sir George Ivison Tapps, his son Sir George William Tapps-Gervis inherited his father's estate. Bournemouth started to grow at a faster rate as George William started developing the seaside village into a resort similar to those that had already grown up along the south coast such as Weymouth and Brighton.[13] In 1841, the town was visited by the physician and writer Augustus Granville. Granville was the author of The Spas of England, which described health resorts around the country. As a result of his visit, Dr Granville included a chapter on Bournemouth in the second edition of his book. The publication of the book, as well as the growth of visitors to the seaside seeking the medicinal use of the seawater and the fresh air of the pines, helped the town to grow and establish itself as an early tourist destination.[13]
The Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens, laid out in the 1840s and 1860s. The Victorian Folly was added later. 
Photochrom of the entrance to the pier, 1890s 
The Bournemouth War Memorial, built in 1921, located in the Bourne Gardens. In the 1840s the fields south of the road crossing (later Bournemouth Square) were drained and laid out with shrubberies and walks. Many of these paths including the 'Invalids walk' remain in the town today; forming part of the Pleasure Gardens which extend for several miles along the Bourne stream. The Pleasure Gardens were originally a series of garden walks created in the fields of the owners of the Branksome Estate in the 1860s. In the early 1870s all the fields were leased to the Bournemouth Commissioners by the freeholders.[13] Parliament approved the Bournemouth Improvement Act in 1856. Under the Act, a board of 13 Commissioners was established to build and organise the expanding infrastructure of the town, such as paving, sewers, drainage, street lighting and street cleaning.During the late 19th century the town continued to develop. The Winter Gardens were finished in 1875 and the cast iron Bournemouth Pier was finished in 1880. The arrival of the railways allowed a massive growth of seaside and summer visits to the town, especially by visitors from the Midlands and London. In 1880 the town had a population of 17,000 people but by 1900, when railway connections were at their most developed to Bournemouth, the town's population had risen to 60,000.[13] It was also during this period that the town became a favourite location for visiting artists and writers. The town was improved greatly during this period through the efforts of Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, the town's mayor and a local philanthropist. He helped establish the town's first library and museum. The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum was housed in his mansion and after his death it was given to the town.
As Bournemouth's growth increased in the early 20th century, the town centre spawned theatres, cafés, two art deco cinemas and more hotels. Other new buildings included the war memorial in 1921 and the Bournemouth Pavilion, the town's concert hall and grand theatre, finished in 1925. The town escaped great damage during the Second World War but saw a period of decline as a seaside resort in the postwar era.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed an inshore lifeboat at Bournemouth in 1965 but it was withdrawn in 1972. Coverage for the area has otherwise been provided from Poole Lifeboat Station[14]
In 1985, Bournemouth became the first town in the United Kingdom to introduce and use CCTV cameras for public street-based surveillance.[15][16]
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Hurn 
