Argyll Gardens is a small Green Flag garden on Bournemouth's West Cliff, best known for the tropical-style planting that has covered its clifftop slopes since the 1920s. It sits right next to Alum Chine, and together the pair form one of the town's more surprising green corners: exotic foliage, a traditional bowling green and views out to sea.
How it came about
The land was first leased from the Alum Chine Estate in 1898 and took the name Argyll Pleasure Grounds when it was renamed in 1901. A bowling green was laid in 1900, at a cost of £40, and Argyll Bowling Club, whose origins go back to a Bournemouth Borough Council committee of 1886, has played on the site ever since, adding a second green and a pavilion in 1933. Where the "Argyll" name comes from is not settled; a long-held theory connects it to Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived close by on the West Cliff and had links with Argyll in Scotland.
What's there
The chief attraction is the tropical and sub-tropical planting that hugs the cliff face, lending the paths a faintly exotic character with views over Poole Bay. Argyll Bowling Club's greens remain in regular use, and Café Argyll and public toilets are available for a pause. It's a simple addition to a walk through neighbouring Alum Chine, with its shady paths and children's play area.
Planning a visit
Access to Argyll Gardens is open and free, with no gates and no fixed hours; the bowls green and café run on their own arrangements. Get there via West Overcliff Drive, an easy walk from the seafront, or hop off the seasonal land train from Bournemouth Pier, which stops nearby.
Immediately next door, the Alum Chine Tropical Gardens run down to Alum Chine beach, so the gardens fit naturally into a longer walk along the coast. For more ideas in the area, see our guide to things to do in Bournemouth.
