The Rock Garden is a small but charming ornamental feature tucked into Bournemouth's Lower Gardens, just inland from the pier and seafront. Terraced stonework and a series of small waterfalls follow the course of the Bourne stream here, creating a quiet, sheltered corner within the wider gardens, easy to miss if you're heading straight for the beach, but worth the short detour.
History
The rockery was added during the interwar redevelopment of the Lower Gardens, when the neighbouring Pavilion was built and the gardens took on much of the layout still recognisable today. Ornamental rock gardens and small cascades were introduced along the park-facing side of the Pavilion as part of these 1920s and 30s improvements, giving this stretch of the gardens its distinctive terraced, planted character.
Visiting
The Rock Garden is open access and free to visit, like the rest of the Lower Gardens, there are no gates or set hours. It sits within a Grade II listed public park that also takes in the Pine Walk bandstand, an aviary and a mini-golf course, all within a five-minute walk of the shops, the beach and the pier.
For more of the town's green spaces nearby, see the neighbouring Lower Gardens and Central Gardens, or explore further afield in our guide to things to do in Bournemouth.
