Poole

Poole sits on the Dorset coast around one of the largest natural harbours in the world, a sprawling stretch of water dotted with low wooded islands and worked by chain ferries, motor cruisers, dinghies and the lifeboats of the RNLI, whose training college looks out over the harbour mouth. It is a town of two very different characters. On one side lies the Old Town and Poole Quay, a knot of narrow streets and Georgian merchants' houses built on the wealth of the Newfoundland cod trade, still busy with fishing boats, café tables and the comings and goings of the Brownsea Island ferries. On the other lies Sandbanks, a narrow spit of golden sand and expensive villas that regularly tops lists of the world's priciest residential land, with a beach that has collected more Blue Flag awards than anywhere else in Britain.

Between these two poles is a town that works rather than performs for visitors, and that is part of its appeal. Poole Park's Victorian lake and bandstand, the ordinary residential streets of Parkstone and Hamworthy, and the container cranes visible from the quay all sit alongside the postcard scenery, giving the place a groundedness that neighbouring Bournemouth, built almost entirely around tourism, doesn't have. Families come for the safe, shallow swimming and watersports of the harbour and open beaches; sailors come for one of the best natural harbours in Europe; and day-trippers come for Brownsea Island, a short crossing away, where Baden-Powell held the first experimental camp that led to the founding of the Scout movement in 1907.

Poole also makes an excellent base for exploring further afield. The Isle of Purbeck, Corfe Castle and the Jurassic Coast are all within easy reach by road or via the Sandbanks chain ferry, while the New Forest lies around half an hour's drive to the east. For a short break or a longer family holiday, Poole offers beach, harbour and history within a compact and genuinely lived-in town.

Top things to do in Poole

Poole rewards a slow pace as much as a packed itinerary. Highlights include:

• Brownsea Island is a National Trust nature reserve reached by ferry from Poole Quay, home to one of the last mainland colonies of red squirrels, peacocks that roam freely, and the site of the first Scout camp.
• Sandbanks Beach offers seven miles of golden sand with some of the cleanest, safest water on the south coast, plus watersports schools for sailing, paddleboarding and kayaking.
• Poole Old Town and Quay is worth an unhurried wander, taking in the 15th-century Scaplen's Court, the Guildhall, and the working harbourside with its fishing boats and seafood stalls.
• Poole Museum, housed in a Victorian quayside warehouse, tells the story of the town's maritime and trading past across several floors, including finds from the Poole Logboat, one of the oldest boats found in Britain.
• Poole Park is a Victorian public park with a boating lake, miniature railway, tennis courts and a wildlife-friendly lagoon, popular with families and joggers alike.
• Tower Park brings together ten-pin bowling, an indoor waterpark at Splashdown, cinema and soft play, making it a reliable wet-weather option.
• Upton Country Park combines an 18th-century house and walled garden with woodland and shoreline walks along Holes Bay.
• Poole Harbour boat trips, whether a short City Cruises sightseeing loop or a longer charter, are the best way to appreciate the scale of the harbour and its islands.

Getting to Poole

Poole has its own railway station on the South Western Railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth, with direct trains taking around two hours and fifteen minutes, and connections at Southampton or Bournemouth for faster or more frequent services. Bournemouth Airport, roughly nine miles away, has a handful of domestic and European routes and is a useful option for shorter transfers.

By road, Poole is reached via the M27 and A31 from the east, or the A35 and A350 from Dorchester and the west, with the journey from central London taking around two to two and a half hours outside peak traffic. Poole Quay, the Dolphin Centre and the seafront all have pay-and-display or multi-storey car parks, though spaces fill quickly on summer weekends, and Sandbanks itself has a metered car park that gets busy from late morning. The Sandbanks chain ferry links the peninsula to Studland and the Isle of Purbeck for foot passengers and vehicles, avoiding a long detour by road.

Best time to visit Poole

Spring brings quieter beaches, blossom in Poole Park and mild enough weather for harbour walks and the first outdoor café tables on the quay, without the crowds or prices of high summer. It is a good time for exploring Brownsea Island before its bird colonies get busy.

Summer is Poole at its most sociable, with warm, sheltered swimming at Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs, watersports schools in full swing, and the harbour full of sails. It is also the busiest and most expensive season, with popular beaches and car parks filling early in the day.

Autumn sees the crowds thin while the water often stays warm enough for swimming into September, and the surrounding countryside and Purbeck hills are at their most atmospheric for walking. Half-term weeks bring a brief return of family visitors.

Winter is quiet and distinctly maritime, with bracing walks along the quay, storm-watching from the harbour front, and a good chance of having Brownsea Island's winter wildlife largely to yourself, though many seasonal attractions and boat services reduce their hours or close.

Where to stay in Poole

Sandbanks suits those who want beachfront luxury and are prepared to pay for it, with direct beach access and a string of well-regarded hotels and restaurants, though it can feel quiet once the day-trippers leave in the evening.

Poole Old Town and the Quay area suit visitors who want to walk everywhere, staying close to restaurants, the museum, the harbour and the Brownsea Island ferry, in a setting with genuine historic character.

Canford Cliffs and Lilliput offer a quieter, leafier alternative between the Old Town and Sandbanks, with clifftop paths, independent shops and easy access to Canford Cliffs Chine beach.

Parkstone and Hamworthy are more residential and generally better value, useful for families travelling by car or those visiting Rockley Park or the western side of the harbour, though a short drive or bus ride from the main attractions.

Food and drink in Poole

Poole's cooking leans heavily on what comes out of the harbour and the bay beyond it, with oysters, crab, lobster and daily catches of bass and mackerel appearing on menus across the town, particularly along the quay where several restaurants and seafood shacks serve straight from the boats. The Guildhall Tavern and other long-established quayside restaurants have built reputations on this local seafood, while newer arrivals bring more contemporary, bistro-style cooking to the same raw materials.

For a more informal meal, the harbourside is lined with fish and chip shops and casual cafés, many with outdoor seating looking over the water towards Brownsea Island. Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs add a scattering of upmarket beach cafés and restaurants that trade on their views as much as their menus, popular for breakfast after an early swim.

Poole Farmers' Market, held regularly in the town centre, brings together Dorset producers selling cheese, cured meats, baked goods and seasonal vegetables, and is a good place to put together a picnic for the beach or Poole Park. A handful of traditional pubs around the Old Town and Hamworthy round out the picture, several with riverside or harbour-view gardens that make the most of Poole's setting on the water.