Take a walking tour around Bournemouth to discover a wealth of interesting architecture. You’ll visit the town’s first house (built 1812), the BCP Civic Centre that was originally a luxury spa hotel (1885) as well as buildings in the historic Square, which is actually round!
We’ll examine the Echo newspaper building, a fine purpose-built Art Deco headquarters (1932) and a hotel that survived a compulsory purchase order and succeeded in keeping its seafront site intact, forcing the local council to alter its plans for the Bournemouth International Centre (1984). Our walk will begin by the pier with its interesting theatre building designed by award-winning architect Elisabeth Scott (1960) and beside the site of the Imax Cinema, now demolished, that was one of the most hated structures ever built in Bournemouth. On this tour we will also pass by Bobby's, the department store highlighted in our report Departing Stores and our Summer 2022 Newsletter. There is much to see on our guided walk, led by local social historian Hattie Miles.
Hattie Miles is a photojournalist and now leads guided history walks in the Bournemouth area. She began her photographic career in 1984, moving to Dorset two years later to become the first woman photographer on the Bournemouth Echo.
