The sea breeze goes straight to Adrian Gillan's head as basking boys get fresh in Bournemouth.
BOURNEMOUTH BOYSThe Gay English Riviera arguably stretches from Torquay to Brighton, so that must mean Bournemouth is in! There's something strangely haunting about an English seaside town out of season yet still swollen with student lads to raise the temperature.Bournemouth isn't huge, and merges along the coast into less gay Poole from which is it still quite distinct. And small means community which is what you'll find at gay support, advice and information drop-in centre Over the Rainbow, a valuable resource when gathering your Bournemouth bearings. Not that you can get too lost, with all the action clustered around a few small streets just north west of the town centre, around the Triangle and Commercial Road. Grab a coffee and get your e-postcards out of the way at Dorothy's Internet Café Bar. NIGHTLIFEThen flit a few doors down to the Bakers Arms, a traditional gay pub of long-standing and in truth past its glory days, but adequate for overcoming any lingering pre-party shyness. | |
| The real pub of the moment is over the road at the Branksome Arms whose clientele is a microcosm of the Bournemouth scene - men and women, young and old, all swarming and warming up for hot club action. |
A happy mixed crowd enjoy the Branksome Arms. |
| The nearby Exchange is an extremely busy venue with a hoard of young boys packed into its compact space. There is some excellent music and entry is free, but the place can get a bit too overrun with fag-hags and you'll need to queue at a weekend if arriving after 10.30pm. | |
| Bournemouth's long-standing clubbing institution, The Triangle, still manages to pull in the pink punters, though Fridays are more for the older be-leathered crowd and Saturdays don't get busy until after midnight. But it's all good fun on the pure pop basement dance floor. |
 Two clubbers out on the Bournemouth scene. |
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Out on a limb, just five minutes walk north west of the Triangle area is the Queen's Hall
pub, which claims to be the oldest gay pub in
town and is just weathering a much needed refurbishment but don't let that stop you.
The main reason gay boys venture up that way is to sample the delights of the H2O Sauna which sits above the Queen's Hall, attracting a mainly young steaming post-party herd on a Sunday afternoon, all huddled together within whatever the weather outside. The Spa is further out if you fancy a change of sauna scene. Cruising means The Gardens, the upper tract of park strip that cuts a swathe right through Bournemouth town centre, notably the stretch just north of the A35 Wessex Way flyover, easy accessible by horned-up post-club fellas who failed to pull or prefer their boys all bushy - busy Fridays and Saturdays and notorious on Sundays after dark. You can also try your outdoor luck along The Chines, a series of sea cliff valleys along West Cliff, mainly used by randy motorists who pull-in-to-pull at the sea-view lay-bys. And naturally, for many, Bournemouth in summer means Studland Nudist Beach, at least the male-frequented parts of it, accessible via the Sandbanks Ferry. The scene also boasts its obligatory sex shop Cerebus for all your porn needs and an array of sundry sexual accoutrements. EATINGThe queer quarter is also awash with good eateries. Rubyz is gay-run and fun, and camp but not cheap. If you want to spare your pennies but still have great food and ambience in the thick of the gay action you could try the gay-friendly Italian Pinocchio's or the Portuguese Funchal By Night.Otherwise, if you fancy a lighter snack or refreshments at any hour of day, Legends is the place, just across The Gardens. BEDWe can heartily recommend the perfectly positioned Creffield Hotel for nourishing sucker and overnight comfort, run by Roger but really overseen by his Arthur - a one-dog personality cult, rightly billed as "the pride of Bournemouth".
THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK | |
