Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the Borough of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. The town has a population of 163,444 according to the 2001 Census, making it the largest settlement in Dorset.

The town was founded by Lewis Tregonwell in 1810 and grew steadily and became a proper town in 1870, when the railway came. Bournemouth used to be part of Hampshire until the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and the associated border changes, and is now in Dorset. Since 1997 the town has been administered by a unitary authority, meaning that it has autonomy from Dorset County Council.

It is a popular tourist destination as it is situated on the south coast of England. The town is a regional centre of education and business, and forms the main part of the South East Dorset conurbation, with the adjoining town of Poole. It is also the largest town on the English south coast between Southampton and Plymouth. The town is notable as the home of the Bournemouth International Centre and is also home to several financial companies including JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide Building Society, Liverpool Victoria, Standard Life Healthcare and The Richmond Group. Some apparently Bournemouth-named organisations, such as Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The Arts Institute at Bournemouth and Bournemouth University are actually located wholly or partly within Poole and Bournemouth International Airport is, in fact, located in the borough of Christchurch.

In a 2007 survey by First Direct Bank, Bournemouth was found to be the happiest place in Britain with 82% of people questioned saying they were happy with their life.