The Upside Down House

If somebody says to you they are off to the upside down house you would be forgiven for thinking they meant a house where the kitchen is downstairs, and the bedrooms are upstairs.

Or that there has been a disaster with somebody’s caravan falling off a cliff and landing on its roof on the beach below.

In Bournemouth, however, this is an actual upside down house.  Well to be fair it isn’t a real house.  It is the brainchild of an organisation that wants people to see things from a different perspective.   And boy does it do that.  It actually takes some getting used to.  Not because the bed, arm chairs and kitchen work tops are on the ceiling above your head, but because the floor is sloped inside so you have this relentless feeling of slipping.   It is actually really disconcerting.   And, therefore, not suitable for anybody who is anything less than 100% steady on their feet.  Upstairs is accessed by a very narrow spiral staircase, too, so bear than in mind if you are juggling small people or babies etc.

It is easy to find (as long as you remember that you are heading to The Triangle in Bournemouth and not The Circle as I put into the sat nav.   Like an idiot).   There is a multi storey car park right behind (pay and display, put The Triangle into your sat nav) and plenty of cafes and restaurants dotted about if you wanted to meet up with people before or after.  Though don’t go thinking you will make a day of it, you will only need to be in the house for half an hour.

The “rooms” are actually just corners of the top floor (apart from the children’s nursery on the ground floor), set out in an open plan arrangement.  And when we arrived we had the place to ourselves, though over the next few minutes other families did arrive but everybody was respectful of people wanting to get their own photos so you didn’t have to worry about there being other people in your shot.

Admission is just over a fiver for adults, and you can do it on line here:  The Upside Down House

Don’t forget your camera! (and obviously the secret is to flip your photos before you share them).  I looked through photos shared from the location tag on Instagram to see what other people had done and screen shot them all to my phone so that Mr B and I could recreate the better ones.  Otherwise you can’t really be sure how to best pose to create the greatest pictures.   For instance, this shot, really needs a straight arm to get the best effect, a bent arm doesn’t give quite the same “ohmygod” impact.

Having learned to do a headstand on a yoga retreat in 2018 you might be forgiven for thinking I bust out my new signature move at every opportunity now.

 

You’re not wrong.

And what’s good for me is good for Mr B

There is no indication on the website about how long it might be there for so if you find yourself on the south coast I would strongly suggest you go along before it moves on.