Poole Tourist Guide
Poole is a coastal town just to the west of Bournemouth with a population of around 140,000 and is part of the South East Dorset conurbation, along with Bournemouth and Christchurch. Poole is reported to have the 2nd largest natural harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia. Perhaps due to this fact, Poole is home to luxury yacht builders Sunseeker – if you visit Poole Quay you will see numerous Sunseeker craft across the water. Poole is a marine location, and as such is also home to the headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the head office of the brand “Animal” is located in the town – having been founded in 1987 a little way down the Dorset coast. Poole is positioned on a popular stretch of coastline, with the resort of Bournemouth to the east, Studland and the Jurassic coast to the west.
Poole Tourist Guide – Local Area
Poole lies on the northern and eastern sides of Poole Harbour. The oldest part of the town (including the historic quarter of Poole, the Dolphin Shopping centre and Poole Park) lie to the south of the Holes Bay and the north of Poole Harbour. Also within the northern boundary is Canford Heath, a new settlement built on an internationally important heathland during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Thankfully, what is left of the heath is now protected, although still in private hands. At the eastern edge of Poole, the town abuts Bournemouth. Sandbanks, a small sand peninsula across part of the harbour mouth (to the east of the main town centre), is so popular that it has the highest land value, per sq foot, in the world. There are exclusive homes both on Sandbanks and the area stretching east from the Harbour to The Avenue (the eastern boundary of Poole).
Poole Tourist Guide – The Harbour
Poole Harbour has been a working port for many hundreds of years, though the port has declined somewhat as the shallow water cannot take the largest ships. The harbour is noted for its ecology: supporting saltmarsh, mudflats and an internationally important population of wintering waterfowl, as well as the Brownsea Island nature reserve, where the Scouting movement began. Today the port is the departure point for ferries (Brittany Ferries and Condor Ferries) to France and the Channel Islands. The quayside and harbour was the place from which some ships departed for the D-Day landings of World War II. There is currently a plan to expand the port and enlarge the capacity and facilities so that larger ships, even cruise ships can dock in Poole. This is all part of the rejuvination of the town, alongside many new developments and amenities including the new bridge which will be going into erection stages in the near future.
Poole Tourist Guide – Watersports
Poole Harbour is a popular location for watersports because it is sheltered and calm. The Sandbanks / shore road area is very popular for windsurfing and kitesurfing, with plenty of on road parking adjacent to the harbour. Hamworthy Park is also a good location for windsurfing, but parking is limited. Poole Harbour is also one of the largest centres for sailing in the UK with many yacht clubs including Lilliput Sailing Club, Parkstone Yacht Club and Poole Yacht Club. Parkstone Yacht Club has recently been hosts of the OK World Championships, numerous large National Championships as well as being organisers of Youth Week and Poole Week, two of the largest dinghy regattas of their type in the country. In 2006 they were the hosts of the J24 European Championship Regatta.
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