Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a coastal resort town and civil parish on the south coast of England, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area and the ceremonial county of Dorset. The 2021 census recorded a built-up area population of 196,455, making it the largest town in Dorset. The site was uninhabited heathland until Lewis Tregonwell founded a health resort there in 1810, and the arrival of the railway in 1870 turned it into a major resort. It is known for a seven-mile stretch of golden sand with beaches such as Alum Chine, Durley Chine and Bournemouth Central, and for a visitor trade of over five million people a year, while financial services now also play a significant part in the local economy.