A chine is a steep-sided valley cut into soft cliff by a stream working its way to the sea, and Alum Chine is the largest of the several that notch Bournemouth’s coast. Its Tropical Gardens sit on the sheltered lower slopes, where a mild coastal microclimate lets plants grow that have little business this far north — Chusan palms, yuccas and pampas that read as Mediterranean rather than Dorset. For anyone staying on the West Cliff it is a short green walk that happens to end at the water, and the descent is as much the point as the beach at the bottom.
The gardens and how they came to be
The tropical planting was first laid out in the 1920s, when the town began making the most of the warm pocket of air this stretch of coast holds. Decades of neglect left it overgrown, and it was cleared and replanted in 1996, with a paved viewing area added as part of the town’s Gardens of Excellence scheme. The chine itself carries an older story: its name comes from the alum once mined here in the sixteenth century — a mineral used to fix dyes and tan leather — until the workings became uneconomic and closed around the middle of the following century.
Walking down to the sea
Paths wind through the trees in shade for most of the way, crossing the valley on three bridges — a suspension bridge from 1903, an arched span from 1922 that replaced the one a young Winston Churchill fell from in 1892, and a beam-and-post bridge from 1924. Partway down there is a pirate-themed play area for children, with sea views opening up as the trees thin and the sand of Alum Chine beach waiting at the foot. The gardens hold a Green Flag, the national mark of a well-kept public park.
Getting there and what’s nearby
Alum Chine lies west of the centre, below the shops and cafés of Westbourne. You can reach it along the seafront promenade, by the land train that runs from Bournemouth Pier in season, or by road down Alumhurst Road, where there is parking near the top. Turn towards town along the sand at the bottom and Durley Chine beach is the next cove along, part of the wider run of attractions strung out beneath these cliffs.
Good to know
Entry is free and the gardens are open access all year. The route down is steep in places, with steps and slopes rather than a level path, so it is worth wearing sensible shoes and looking over the other things to do nearby before you set out. Toilets and refreshment tend to cluster at the seafront end and in the gardens above; hours for those change with the season, so confirm before you rely on them.
