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.
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Household information to Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland path
On this put up I’m sharing what you’ll be able to count on when Bournemouth’s Christmas lights return in 2024, together with all the things it’s worthwhile to know for a magical time out or keep in Bournemouth.
The Christmas Tree Wonderland takes place from 15 November to 31 December 2024.
What’s the Christmas Tree Wonderland?
Greater than 100 illuminations and light-weight installations run from the well-known pier, by means of the Victorian Decrease Gardens to an Alpine fashion 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, sizzling 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 bushes, representing cities from throughout the World. Once we visited, the one modelled on Seattle’s tree was my favorite.
Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland map
Choose up a path map at one of many entrances to Decrease Gardens to be sure to don’t miss something. You may as well discover the Christmas Tree Pageant map on-line.
The 2024 map might be accessible 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 extensively 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 purpose for are: Bournemouth Pier, Westover Highway, Bournemouth Sq., Wootton Gardens and Lansdowne.
By prepare – Bournemouth Prepare Station is a ten minute stroll from the path at Lansdowne roundabout. From right here you’ll be able to observe the prepare in the direction of the seafront.
How lengthy do you want for the Christmas Tree Wonderland path?
We spent six hours profiting from 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 reveals begin. These often occur each half an hour between 4pm and 9pm.
Keep in mind that the path might be at its busiest after darkish, so could be harder with younger youngsters.
There are a number of routes by means of or across the gardens and illuminations in the event you get caught in a crowd.
Is the Christmas Tree Wonderland free?
Sure! It’s FREE to stroll by means of Decrease Gardens and see the Christmas Tree Wonderland itself, however chances are you’ll prefer to price range for just a few additional actions to make it a particular Christmas time out.
For an summary check out our Christmas Tree Wonderland Bournemouth video:
You may additionally prefer 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 when you are having fun with a festive time out in Bournemouth:
Bournemouth Christmas Market
Bournemouth Christmas Market is on this 12 months with meals and reward stalls in an alpine setting round Bournemouth Sq..
There’s additionally an Alpine Bar and Apres Terrace.
The market is open between 14 November 2024 and 1 January 2025.
Go to a pantomime in Bournemouth
This 12 months’s pantomime at Bournemouth Pavilion, Jack and the Beanstalk, is filled with glowing units, lavish costumes, superb track and dance numbers, comedy and luggage of viewers participation.
Ebook tickets for Jack and the Beanstalk, 7 December 2024 to five January 2025.
Ice skating
Skate is an actual ice rink on the high of Decrease Gardens. It was a very long time since both Mr Tin Field or I had been ice skating and the women had solely had a go on plastic rinks.
It’s protected to say skating was successful, regardless of me feeling like a child giraffe and everybody getting soggy socks.
The rink is open air 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 incredible.
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 children who took a little bit of time to realize confidence on the ice.
In the meantime, Mr Tin Field shortly regained his skating expertise gained as a teen!
After skating it’s good enjoyable to go to the Alpine Bar which is connected to the rink. We are able to suggest a luxurious sizzling chocolate for serving to you heat up. There’s additionally road meals, music and festive cubicles for chilling in after a skate.
This 12 months the rink is open from 14 November 2024 till 5 January 2025.
Go to the Skate Bournemouth web site to 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 women had been content material with whacking the ball round as a lot as attainable.
Test the Smugglers Cove web site for the most recent opening instances and costs.
If in case you have extra time within the space, take a look at 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 high. A sizzling 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 sizzling 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 absolutely widespread, so get there early if you wish to bag a window seat with a sea view.
If you happen to select to go exterior Bournemouth city centre for lunch or dinner we are able to additionally suggest City Reef at Boscombe. We ate dinner there after seeing the Christmas bushes.
I cherished consuming right here a few years in the past with buddies and had excessive hopes that the meals was nonetheless simply pretty much as good. We weren’t dissatisfied.
There’s a large alternative of meals on the primary menu in addition to specials and a kids’s menu. I had mussels with probably the most unbelievable 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 ambiance 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 suggest staying at Bournemouth Seashore Lodges.
These bijou lodges come trendy seaside huts accommodate as much as six folks proper on the seaside 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 Seashore Lodges overview.
Discover extra locations to remain in Bournemouth on reserving.com.
In search of 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 lined. All opinions are my very own and my household’s.