Most people staying in Bournemouth never walk this far east, which is much of the appeal. Fisherman’s Walk sits between Boscombe and Southbourne, at the foot of a wooded zig-zag that fishermen once used to get from the shore up to the New Bell Inn at Pokesdown. The sand is wide and properly looked after, the promenade runs unbroken in both directions, and the crowd is thinner than anywhere within sight of a pier.
History and how it formed
The path came before anything else here. Fishermen used the route up the cliff long enough for the name to stick, and the ground above it was laid out as a public park with lawns, an ornamental pond and a bandstand dating from the 1920s. The climb was steep enough to be worth engineering away. The Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Lift opened in 1935, carrying passengers 91 feet up a 45-degree incline, and it has run every season since apart from a break during the Second World War.
What to expect
Sand and shingle, with more shingle showing towards the top of the beach and a broad sandy strip appearing as the tide drops. Beach huts line the back of the promenade. The cliff behind is planted and green rather than built on, which keeps the whole place feeling less developed than the seafront further west. From the clifftop the view runs along the coast and, on a clear day, across to the Isle of Wight. Quieter than the beaches by the piers, though not empty in August.
Swimming and safety
RNLI lifeguards cover this stretch through the main season — broadly late May to early September, daily from 10am until 6pm — and the patrolled water sits between the red and yellow flags. Those dates shift a little from year to year, so trust the flags rather than anything printed. Outside the season there is no cover at all. The beach holds a Blue Flag, which is an award for water quality and management rather than a comment on the sand.
Facilities
Toilets, showers and water taps are down at beach level. Café Riva sits at the top of the zig-zag rather than on the sand, so a coffee involves the climb either before or after. Fixed electric barbecues are installed here, free to use on a first-come basis and on a timer; disposable barbecues are restricted to the evening. Beach huts are rented by the day or the week, at rates that change with the season.
Dogs
Dogs are kept off the award beaches through the summer, with the restriction running from the start of May to the end of September. The compensation is a dog exercise area that begins at the Fisherman’s Walk zig-zag and runs east towards Southbourne, open all year. Leads are required on the promenade, the paths and the zig-zags in every month. The boundary is marked at the groynes, and the sign on the day is the version that counts.
Getting there and parking
The zig-zag down from Southbourne Overcliff Drive has a gentle gradient and is manageable with a pushchair, though the return is a genuine climb. The cliff lift is the alternative, seasonally and not every day of the week. Roadside parking along the Overcliff is free where you can find it, and Woodside Road car park is the nearest formal option.
Nearby
Southbourne Beach picks up immediately east along the same promenade and has more in the way of cafés. Boscombe Beach and its pier lie the other way, and the walk between the two is flat the whole distance. Our beaches hub sets this stretch against the rest of the coast.
