Accessible Days Out Around Bournemouth Worth Planning Around

If you’re planning a break around specific access needs, the good news is Bournemouth has more going for it than the seafront. Here’s what’s worth knowing about our own facilities, plus two places nearby that make for a proper day out.

We’ve done the groundwork

Marsham Court is an Edwardian building, over a century old, and we won’t pretend that doesn’t come with some physical limitations we can’t design around entirely. What we can do is make sure you know exactly what you’re walking into before you book. We’ve worked with AccessAble to put together a detailed access guide, and there’s a virtual tour and a set of videos covering public areas, corridors, all accessible bedrooms and the route in from the rear car park. None of it should be guesswork on your part.

On site there are accessible bedrooms and wet rooms, a Changing Places toilet and shower room, and a Sensory Room for guests who need a quieter space. Blue Badge parking is reserved on request, hearing loops are fitted at reception and in event spaces, and service dogs are welcome throughout. If none of that answers your question, ring reception. That’s genuinely quicker than trying to work it out from a webpage.

A day out at Moors Valley

For a proper day away from the seafront, Moors Valley Country Park and Forest is worth the drive, roughly ten miles north of Bournemouth out past Ashley Heath. It’s not somewhere that’s bolted accessibility on as an afterthought.

There are 13 accessible parking bays near the visitor centre, and the path in is tarmac, though there are a couple of short steeper stretches worth knowing about. Inside, the desk has a lowered section, there’s an induction hearing loop, and large print or braille map leaflets are available on request. For getting further into the park, a manual wheelchair can be borrowed for up to four hours, and Tramper mobility scooters are available through the South West Countryside Mobility Scheme for the gravel and dirt tracks. There’s a Changing Places toilet on site too. One thing worth flagging before you go: the steam railway itself can’t accommodate a wheelchair, so it’s best to check that directly if it’s part of your plan.

Worth knowing about: the Wave Project

Dorset is also home to the Wave Project, a charity running surf therapy sessions for young people managing mental health difficulties or additional needs. It isn’t something you can turn up and book on the day. Places are arranged through referral, usually via a school, GP or social care service, so it suits a specific situation rather than a general family outing. Still, if it’s relevant to your family, it’s worth knowing it exists and looking into it ahead of time rather than assuming it works like a standard attraction.

What a stay like this can look like

• A hotel base with a Changing Places facility, a Sensory Room, accessible bedrooms and Blue Badge parking on request
• A day trip to Moors Valley, with wheelchair and mobility scooter hire, accessible parking and its own Changing Places toilet
• A quieter evening back at the hotel, with hearing loops and a team who know the building inside out

None of this needs to be complicated. Look at the access guides for wherever you’re heading, and call ahead if you’ve got questions a webpage can’t answer. We’re used to that conversation, and so is Moors Valley.

Get in touch before you book

If you’re weighing up a Bournemouth break with accessibility in mind, talk to us first. Our reservations team can talk through room options, parking and anything else you need sorted before you arrive, so there’s nothing left to guess on the day. Get in touch with the team, or take a look at our accessibility page and accessible things to do around Bournemouth for more.