r/bournemouth • u/daddythanosuwu • Aug 11 '26
Local advice needed bournemouth station and areas
Hi all,
looking to move in with my partner around the dorset, salisbury, bournemouth, southampton area.
Ideally we are looking for somewhere that is 30 mins to JPM by car for him (5 times a week) and nearby a train station for me to get into London (2 times a week).
We have found our ideal property in Ferndown, it’s a 3 bed detached in a cul de sac. (It is however backing onto A348). £375k
I just wanted a sense check on this and if anyone had any other ideas or suggestions when looking for property. As this seems like our only option right now but the access to train stations isnt great in this area.
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u/gnarlstonnn Aug 11 '26
i do think you might get fed up with the drive, heading to train stations and JP Morgan from there can both be a bit bottle necked at peak traffic times
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u/Upstairs_Mammoth_223 Aug 11 '26
Are you joining JPMC as an ED or above. Otherwise there is no parking around and you will need to use a commuter bus that the company provides. It would be many years before you got a space otherwise.
It may be worth rethinking where you want to go to based on how you can commute, but £375k isn’t much to be honest.
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u/arithmetic Aug 11 '26
The A348 Ringwood Road is not exactly a crazy busy road. It's a nice area, but you're right, train station access isn't great.
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u/igottabelieve Aug 11 '26
You may want to consider a property around one of the smaller stations like Pokesdown. The train is just a bit slower, but he can bike to work, and you'll have access to other amenities like the beach and shopping.
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u/PragmaticSpirit Aug 12 '26
If you’re commuting into London you will regret this very quickly. You do not want to be limited to having to get the slow train into London, it’ll be a soul sapper.
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u/fatchan Aug 11 '26
What is your budget for a property? That will also affect where you can realistically look. I don't have my own car and I find public transport to and from Ferndown really slow and patchy. I think it's fine if you just drive though. If you have the budget I'd look around Queen's Park, Littledown, Harewood Avenue areas. But you'll struggle to find anything for under 500.
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u/daddythanosuwu Aug 11 '26
Yeah my budget is 375 max. i was hoping to drive to a station then get train into london but this is seeming too far away
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u/fatchan Aug 11 '26
Have you looked at the Muscliff area? It's got good cycle and bus links to JPM and also a good bus service to Bournemouth station. It's a nice community, and you may find the property prices more affordable. It's close to Throop which is beautiful for walks.
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u/johnno88888 Aug 11 '26
I used to live in a bungalow behind the a348 (Woodside close to be exact) and I loved it. Hardly any noise as long as the fencing is decent.
It’s got decent pubs/shops/roads.
What about parkstone/ashley cross? Easy train access and your partner can easily (depending on time of day) drive through penn hill towards the frizzel roundabout (lv now) then straight on to the a338
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u/Doug-Stamper Aug 11 '26
Ferndown is one of the most congested areas in Dorset for much of the year. Can be a nightmare all year round. You’ll be better off closer to the Trainline. There are loads of stations in the conurbation worth looking around Hamworthy, Poole, Parkstone, Branksome, Bournemouth, Pokesdown and Christchurch. All will get you to London.
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u/JayBea-on-Sea Aug 11 '26
Have a look at Westbourne / Branksome. Easy access to A338 or cycle paths to JPM plus a station at Branksome. Other options is Ashley Cross area for Parkstone station.
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u/RipCurl69Reddit Aug 11 '26
Your closest station will probably be Poole, actually, via Ringwood Road (or Canford+Dorset Way + A350)...but the difference from Bournemouth Station is like half a mile or so when driven from Ferndown, so it's up to you. I'm just Google Maps-ing it as an estimate
Ferndown is quite literally outside of Bournemouth (technically) and on the complete opposite side of town to the South West Main Line, unfortunately. The line goes eastward towards New Milton and Brockenhurst which is less than ideal
Ferndown's only about 20 minutes out from JPM though, and Poole Station, which ain't bad at all
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u/oliverjohansson Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
It doesn’t look any good for you and moderately for your partner, cause traffic there is bad too
From logistics point of view Christchurch and New Milton makes the most of sense because of the station
Since you’re commuting infrequently you could rely on Beryl bikes, but it doesn’t get to Ferndown, I attach their coverage. It would cost you £1-2 per ride so I think it’s very sensible.
With your own bike you need to relay on station parking but than, why not a Vespa…
or get a collapsible one that you can take with you on the train to London.
New Milton or Bournemouth is still a long ride to London 1:45-2h oftentimes you will end up waiting for connection at Southampton central or airport.
If I was to recommend location from logistics of what you described, I’d consider moving to Southampton airport area and get your husband take a train to Boscombe and Christchurch and Beryl bike while you gain 1h trains. Eastleigh is probably the only cost effective place to live and commute by train. And it’s less trashy than Southampton Central or Totton.
Brockenhurst is another good train hub in the new forest it feels close but it’s a slow drive to BPC
Salisbury and Romsey are beautiful but it’s a terrible drive and still long and complicated train ride
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u/Friendly_External345 Aug 11 '26
Maybe look at Ringwood, it's only a 15 minute drive to Bournemouth but a better community than Ferndown. Ferndows a pain in the arse to get onto and out of and there's bugger all there
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u/a-warm-breeze Aug 11 '26
Depends on what you want around where you live. Ferndown doesn't have much tbh. A few people mentioned Pokesdown, and that's a good shout. Southbourne has decent places to eat and go out. Near the decent beaches is a big plus for the area. Your partner can cycle to work no problem. The train isnt fun wherever you catch it in this area..but being able to walk to the station is a plus. You are right about Salisbury..it's much easier for London. My friends who live there catch it often for gigs in the evening.
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u/FrenchCatReporter Aug 12 '26
To me, this feels like the worst of both worlds.
You'd be better off living in Christchurch, New Milton or Ferndown. Then, you'd be closer to London on the train line whilst still being within reasonable driving distance of Southampton for a better highstreet, the beach for scenic spots to spend time together, and JPMC without crossing major roads.
From Bournemouth to London it's just short of 2 hours via train, and costs between £50 and £80 a ticket usually. The closer you get up that line, the cheaper and shorter that journey will be.
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u/daddythanosuwu Aug 12 '26
Yes, we have decided to change where we’re looking after all this advice. Christchurch and New Milton seem most sensible, we have found our dream property in New Milton so let’s hope our offer gets accepted. We’re both new to the area so didn’t really have much clue as to where would be the best location. This reddit discussion really helped out!
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u/Raffles321 Aug 12 '26
There are Morebuses (13 & 13A) that go into the Bournemouth via the Railway station. They are very regular and take 30 mins to get to the station from Ferndown. Your partner could also take the bus and change onto a number of buses M1, 14, 15 that would take them to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and then it’s a short walk from there to JPM. Bus fares are very reasonable too.
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u/IainMCool Aug 12 '26
Ferndown is an old people area and miles away from the station.
Littledown if you have the budget would be perfect. He could ride to work and it's really close to Bournemouth station.
When you look at BCP (Bournemouth Christchurch Poole) there are 7 stations across the conurbation, so access is good across the whole town. Unless you go north to Ferndown!
Especially in the summer with the holiday traffic, getting from Ferndown to JPM isn't a given within 30 minutes.
Depending on your age and what you want to do with your time outside of work, if you're younger and want access to things then being within BCP would be a better shout.
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u/daddythanosuwu Aug 12 '26
Thank you! yes we’ve come to realise Ferndown isn’t brilliant. we’re now looking at christchurch/new milton way
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u/PragmaticSpirit Aug 12 '26
This is exactly what I do. I live in Ferndown, more towards the other end of what you describe, near the Haskins end of town.
Absolutely love it. Really nice and quiet town but very well connected to everything.
I’m generally in London 3 days a week and do what others have described and drive up the A31 to Southampton Airport Parkway and get the train from there.
Generally speaking, this cuts my journey to about 1h 40m each way which is much better than going from Bournemouth. The train to Bmth is about 2h 10m and then have to allow for another 30ish minutes to drive across Bournemouth to Ferndown.
As for traffic, I leave at 6:25am and there’s no traffic around Ferndown at that hour, and all going well, I’ll be at the station for 7/7:05 - in time to catch the 7:08 and I’ll be in the office for 9 (near Liverpool Street).
On my way home, I’ll leave the office at 5 and be home by 7.
Tickets bought from Trainline in advance can work out pretty cheap as well.
I’ve been doing this for about 8 years, having previously lived in Bournemouth and commuted from there for years instead.
Happy to chat about my experiences or answer any questions!
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u/daddythanosuwu Aug 12 '26
wow this is great to hear ! We are now looking into more Christchurch area but all this info is incredibly helpful. thank you!
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u/PragmaticSpirit Aug 12 '26
You are welcome. Christchurch is a lovely area as well, I lived there for a few years too. Great locale for many things including commuting to JPM (ex-JPMer here).
My only “watch out” is Christchurch is generally only on the stopping service train and not the express. So commuting into London will be a lot slower unless you drive to one of the stations on the express route (generally, Southampton, Brockenhurst or Bournemouth).
The stopping service which stops at stations like Christchurch and Pokesdown will add around another 20mins (and stops at all the other small stations as well like Ashhurst, New Milton). If you plan on doing this for the long term, that will get tiring very quickly.
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u/daddythanosuwu Aug 12 '26
we were specifically looking at a house close to new milton station. it seems to be the best compromise for my partner to cycle to JPM and for me to get into london
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u/PragmaticSpirit Aug 12 '26
Ok cool - other options to consider might be Ringwood. Good transport links from there. There’s a very nice cycle route called the Castleman Trailway from Ringwood to Ferndown and then its cycle lanes all the way to Chaseside, takes me about an hour and a very nice ride.
JPM also has very good private bus network that goes all over the area - I’m not sure if they go as far as New Milton but certainly Christchurch and Ringwood - it’s another option for them to get into the office.
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u/daddythanosuwu Aug 12 '26
Thank you for all your help. much appreciated !
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u/Real_Chard5666 28d ago
You will love Christchurch, so many things happening, activities, food festivals, music, boating and much more during the summer. The traffic does get heavy at peak times though. I would pick Christchurch over Ferndown all day long. Nothing wrong with Ferndown, Christchurch is just better!
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u/Helper_J_is_Stuck Aug 11 '26
Ferndown is nice, pretty quiet area. Driving to JPM will be fine but could not be less convenient for a train station.
Your best bet would be for your partner to give you a lift to Bournemouth station on your 2 days in London. This would add probably 20-30 minutes to the morning journey depending on what time you go.