Lunch, Shopping and Sea Air: The Perfect Westbourne Girls’ Day Out

Westbourne Girls’ Day Out | Shopping, Beauty and Lunch | Dorset Lifestyle

Westbourne has everything we need for a girls’ day out without the stress of travelling between different parts of town. Its boutiques, salons, galleries, pubs and restaurants are clustered around a compact high street, and the beach is only a walk away.

The best Westbourne days are unhurried. Begin with a treatment or coffee, spend the late morning browsing independent shops and then settle in for lunch. In the afternoon, wander through the Victorian arcade before following Alum Chine towards the sea.

Here is how we would spend the perfect day.

Start the morning at The Venue Beauty Salon & Clinic on Poole Road. Open seven days a week, the salon offers everything from manicures, pedicures and massage to facials, brows, lashes and advanced skincare.

A manicure is an easy choice for a group because it leaves plenty of time for shopping afterwards, while a facial or massage turns the day into something closer to a mini spa break. The Venue also opens late during the week, so this part of the itinerary could be saved until the end of the day.

For a quieter, more individual treatment, book with Resonance Massage & Beauty, located inside The Skin Clinic Company. Treatments are tailored to each client and include restorative massage, facials and a Japanese-style facial massage designed to sculpt, lift and encourage lymphatic drainage.

Appointments should be reserved beforehand, particularly when several friends want treatments at similar times. Anyone not having a treatment can begin with coffee nearby and meet the rest of the group afterwards.

Once everyone is feeling suitably refreshed, it is time to explore the shops.

Make Lonah the first stop. Established in 2003, this independent women’s boutique offers curated designer clothing, footwear, handbags and accessories. Its collection combines special-occasion pieces with clothing that can be worn repeatedly, while personal styling advice makes it useful when we want an honest second opinion.

Continue to House of Heels, where the focus shifts to footwear. This is the place to look for shoes with more personality than we might find in a conventional shopping centre, whether the aim is something elegant, colourful or ready for a special event.

Westbourne’s strength lies in the variety surrounding these boutiques. Poole Road and Seamoor Road contain fashion, jewellery, interiors, gifts and pre-loved clothing within a few minutes’ walk. Shopping feels sociable here: we can browse slowly, compare discoveries and stop whenever someone spots an interesting window.

A girls’ day out deserves more than a hurried sandwich, and Westbourne offers plenty of places to settle in.

Harveys Restaurant provides stylish surroundings and carefully prepared menus, making it a natural choice when the lunch itself is one of the day’s main events. Check its current menu and any seasonal offers when booking.

For a relaxed pub lunch, head to The Libertine. The much-loved Westbourne pub serves seasonal British dishes, sandwiches and desserts alongside wine, spritzes, cocktails, craft beer and cask ales. Following its refurbishment, the interior combines dark wood, artwork and comfortable corners suited to a long catch-up.

The Libertine is also useful when different people want different things. The group can meet for lunch, stop only for drinks or return later for a cocktail after the beach walk.

Whichever restaurant we choose, booking is advisable for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The entire point of the day is to avoid rushing, so allow at least 90 minutes for lunch.

After lunch, walk through Westbourne’s Grade II-listed Victorian arcade, which connects Poole Road with Seamoor Road.

Built in 1884-85 by Henry Joy, it is a beautifully preserved example of a polychrome Gothic shopping arcade. Look above the modern shop windows to see its striped brick-and-stone arches, pointed details and glass roof.

Inside, visit Overbury’s Fine Art Supplies, where you can pick up paints, pencils, brushes, sketchbooks and other materials for a girls’ craft night. Choose a simple activity everyone can enjoy, such as painting canvases, decorating cards or attempting portraits of one another, then add drinks, snacks and a suitably entertaining playlist.

Next door, Courtenay’s Fine Art offers a different kind of browsing. The family-run gallery has been established in Westbourne for more than two decades and displays original paintings, prints and limited editions in a wide range of styles.

Together, these businesses make the arcade feel like more than a covered shopping street. It becomes a small creative destination, and an excellent place to explore if the weather changes.

Finish the afternoon with the part of Westbourne no indoor shopping destination can offer: a walk to the beach.

Head south from the centre towards Alum Chine. The route takes around 20 minutes, although we should allow longer for photographs and stops along the way.

As the path descends, the sound of traffic fades behind mature trees and subtropical planting. The chine’s gardens were first laid out during the 1920s, using the sheltered valley and Bournemouth’s mild seaside climate to support exotic-looking plants.

At the bottom, Alum Chine Beach opens onto Poole Bay, with views extending towards the Purbeck coast. Walk along the sand, find a bench overlooking the water or continue along the promenade towards Bournemouth or Branksome Chine.

The climb back to Westbourne is uphill, but there is no need to hurry. A takeaway coffee beside the beach can turn the walk into a relaxing end to the afternoon.

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Once back in Westbourne, extend the day with drinks or dinner in one of the neighbourhood’s independent bars and restaurants. After the walk up from Alum Chine, it is the perfect opportunity to rest tired feet and compare the day’s purchases over something delicious.

Westbourne works so well for a girls’ day out because everything feels connected. We can have a treatment, browse boutiques, enjoy lunch, discover local art and walk to the coast without driving between appointments.

It has the choice of a town centre but the atmosphere of a neighbourhood, and just enough sea air to make an ordinary shopping day feel like a proper escape.