Bournemouth became the popular holiday resort it is today when the eminent physician Dr Granville recommended its mild sunny climate for those with poor health. Until 1811 the area had been undeveloped until the local squire built a summer house there (where the Exeter hotel now stands). His investment was the beginning of a massive expansion of the resort and the town's population grew from only 695 to 59,000 in only 50 years. Few resorts can match its six miles of sandy beaches and magnificent 100 foot cliffs. Lifts and walks connect the beaches with the streets and there is an excellent range of sporting venues, cinemas, theatres, shops and restaurants.
Situated 8kms north of Bournemouth city centre, Bournemouth Airport handles 500,000 passengers per year. The recently renovated terminal serves scheduled flights to France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Italy, as well as to Ireland and the Channel Islands. Holiday charter destinations include Austria, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Sardinia, Majorca, Menorca and the Canary Islands, plus Barbados and New York in the Americas. It is anticipated that passenger traffic will double due to the recent arrival of low-cost carrier Thomsonfly.com. Three car parks at the airport can accommodate 1,500 vehicles. Car park 3 is nearest the terminal, and is used primarily for short stays and collecting arriving passengers.
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow, with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay. Poole Harbour has an area of approximately 36 km². It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world". Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, Trincomalee Harbour in Sri Lanka and Cork Harbour in Ireland
Old Harry Rocks are three chalk formations, including a stack and a stump, located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England. They mark the most eastern point of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Brownsea Island, also archaically known as Branksea, is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck. The island was the location of an experimental camp in 1907 that led to the formation of the Scout movement the following year. Access is by public ferry or private boat; in 2017 the island received 133,340 visitors. The island's name probably comes from Anglo-Saxon Br?noces ?eg = "Br?noc's island".