Poole

Once the largest settlement in Dorset, Poole is now a pleasant, bustling port. Its huge natural harbour, reputed to be Europe’s largest, actually a drowned river valley, has a shoreline of some 50 miles and is the most extensive anchorage in Europe with a history going back well beyond Roman times. A 33feet long Logboat, hollowed from a giant oak tree and dating back to around 295 BC, has been found off Brownsea Island, the largest of several islands dotting the harbour. This is now displayed in Poole Museum, which reveals Poole’s fascinating history over four floors and offers free entry.

Poole’s Old Town is an exciting mix of smugglers passageways and elegant houses built by rich merchants in the 17th and 18th centuries. Tour this area using the ‘Poole Cockle Trail Guide’, available from Poole Welcome Centre, centrally located on
Poole Quay

Poole’s 3 miles of deep golden sand provides a fantastic location for safe swimming, sunbathing and watersports. Sandbanks Beach is winner of more European Blue Flags than any other British restort. Every Thursday evening in August there’s a Summer Breeze beach party with sports, live music, barbecues and a spectacular firework finale. During July Summer Breeze takes place on Poole Quay with live music, family fun, street entertainment and a fireworks finale to round off the evening.

The Quay is a great place to relax with a drink whilst watching the visiting yachts in the marina. Alternatively participate in one of the many watersports available or take a trip on the land train. Internationally famed Poole Pottery has been producing high-quality pottery for more than 125 years. You can visit their shop on Poole Quay for the largest collection of Poole Pottery including heritage and second designs. There is a great range of gifts and homeware along with live demonstrations from the master potter, and a café. You can also paint your own piece of pottery in the ‘paint-a-pot’ area.

Next to Poole Pottery on Poole Quay is Eileen Soper’s Illustgrated Worlds, perfect for some old-fashioned fun this is Poole’s most recent interactive attraction, bringing the world of popluar author, Enid Blyton to life. Located behind the main shopping area, in Kingland Road, is Poole’s centre for the arts, the Lighthouse. This is the largest arts centre outside London, which boasts a year-round programme of national and international events. To the north of the town is Tower Park, one of the south coast’s premier entertainment destinations, with a 10-screen cinema, bowling, Splashdown water park and a host of restaurants.

Poole is well-provided with public parks offering a wide range of activities, and the town also boasts one of the county’s great gardens, Compton Acres, which was created in the 1920s by Thomas William Simpson who spent the equivalent of £10 million in today’s money. Amongst its varied themed areas, which include a lovely Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden enjoys an especially fine reputation. Japanese architects and workmen were brought over to England to create what is reputed to be the only completely genuine Japanese Garden in Europe, an idyllic setting in which only the most troubled spirit could not find solace. Magnificent sculptures enhance the grounds which also contain restaurants, a delicatessen, model railway exhibition and shops. From the Colonnade viewpoint there are grand views over Poole Harbour to the Purbeck hills beyond.

From Poole Quay there are regular cruises along the coast and ferries to Brownsea Island (National Trust), where there are quiet beaches with safe bathing. Visitors can wander through 500 acres of heath and woodland which provide one of the few remaining refuges for Britain’s native red squirrel. In 1907, General Robert Baden-Powell carried out an experiment on the island to test his idea of teaching boys from all social classes the scouting skills he had refined during the Boer Wars. Just 20 boys attended that first camp: in its heyday during the 1930s, the world-wide Scouting Movement numbered some 16 million members in more than 120 countries. In 1898, in the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks, at the entrance to Poole Harbour, Marconi established one of the world’s first radio stations, which received signals sent from a transmitter on the Needles.