1,000 deckchairs hired at Bournemouth beach over Easter

More than 1,000 deckchairs were hired to sunseekers, with 22,000 ice creams served as the warm and sunny weather brought thousands to the area’s beaches, town centres, open spaces and attractions.

Bournemouth Pier saw more than 5,000 visitors with the catering outlets from Southbourne to Sandbanks and beyond serving around 60,000 customers.

Bournemouth Beach on Good Friday

Over the four day break, 7,000 lollies were sold along with 10,000 hot beverages and 11,000 cold drinks.

Councillor Mohan Iyengar, portfolio holder for tourism and active health, said: “We are delighted to have welcomed so many visitors to our beautiful region this Easter and are really looking forward to a great summer ahead.

“A massive thank you to all the BCP Council teams and partner organisations in emergency and other services.

"They worked tirelessly across the seafront, parks, heritage sites and open spaces through the long weekend.”

Bournemouth Beach on Good Friday.
The popular Hengistbury Head and Bournemouth Land Trains were packed with the cliff lifts also busy throughout the weekend.

Seafront attractions such as Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf at Bournemouth’s Pier Approach were also bustling.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, Bournemouth’s iconic deckchairs and sun loungers have been returned to the beaches after they were removed last summer amid Covid and antisocial behaviour fears.

Bournemouth Beach on Good Friday

The deckchair service returned to Bournemouth and Poole’s beaches earlier this month after it was halted during last year’s summer season.

Temperatures over the Easter weekend soared to around 20C during what was the warmest spell of weather of the year so far.

Beachgoers could be seen soaking up the sun and splashing around in the sea along Bournemouth seafront.

Bournemouth Beach on Good Friday

Speaking on Good Friday, the Prom Cafe at Pier Approach, said: "We've had nearly 500 orders today, it's been really busy and the wait time has been very long, up to an hour. The sun is shining so everyone wants ice cream and fish and chips. It's going to get much busier this summer."

Meanwhile, bus service, City Sightseeing Bournemouth, said: "It's been a lot busier compared to last weekend when it was very quiet. The weather is nice so we've had lots of people on staycation, who are not from around here and the bus has been very busy."