Redhill Common is a compact nature reserve of real ecological value in the Redhill/Northbourne part of Bournemouth, reached from Redhill Drive. Covering only 7 hectares, it ranks among the town's smaller green spaces, yet it has earned a Green Flag Award for its blend of heathland, grassland, scrub and woodland, habitat types that are becoming scarce around the edges of Bournemouth and Poole.
What remains of Turbary Common
What you see today is a leftover of the far larger Turbary Common heathland, which the 1802 Christchurch Inclosure Act shielded from building. The heath was planted with conifers in the 19th century, and then again in the 1920s by unemployed ex-servicemen working through the British Legion, which altered its character a great deal. In 1937 much of the surrounding common was laid out as a recreation ground and took the name Redhill Park. Not until 1998 was the ecological worth of the remaining common properly acknowledged, prompting a heathland regeneration project to bring back the original mix of heath, grassland and scrub.
Wildlife, volunteers and the "Five Parks"
The reserve is now managed by the Redhill Common Conservation Group, a volunteer body that runs guided walks and events and keeps up an information board on site describing the plants and wildlife. Badgers, foxes, a wide variety of birds and, during summer, reptiles have all been recorded. Redhill Common also belongs to the group of sites held by The Five Parks, Bournemouth charitable trust (registered charity 299740), alongside Kings, Queens and Meyrick parks and Seafield Gardens, green space reserved for the town's public more than a hundred years ago.
There is no entry charge, the common opens every day, and parking, toilets and refreshments are available on site. The adjoining recreation ground is covered in our Redhill Park listing, and our guide to things to do in Bournemouth has more suggestions nearby.
