Poole appeals to travellers with a range of interests: water sports in the harbour, reminders of the town’s history and lifeboat heritage, and the parkland of Poole Park. When choosing your activities, it is worth considering these themes separately. The self-guided Cockle Trail takes you through the historic old town and lasts about an hour, offering a clearly defined way to explore the town’s history. Other distinct focuses include individual exhibits, buildings, architectural periods and wildlife watching.
Water sports and wildlife watching
Poole Harbour is suitable for all kinds of water sports. There are more than a dozen yacht clubs and marinas in the harbour. If water sports are your main interest, you will find several options here: the harbour’s broad suitability for water sports and the presence of numerous clubs and marinas. The Birds of Poole Harbour Visitor Centre offers another way to explore the harbour: it provides interactive experiences about the harbour’s ecological importance. The centre helps both inexperienced and experienced birdwatchers find out where and when they can spot particular bird species. You can therefore combine water sports with wildlife watching in the harbour, without either interest requiring the same kind of visit.
Town history through boats, streets and buildings
The Iron Age Poole Logboat is on public display, bringing an object from an early period into the exploration of the town’s history. Scaplen’s Court and Garden is a medieval merchant’s house with a walled herb and medicinal plant garden dating from the 1930s. The house and garden therefore represent different periods: the house is medieval, while the garden dates from a much later time.
Poole High Street also displays several architectural periods: Georgian houses, Victorian commercial buildings and Art Deco shopfronts from the 1930s. The street also connects the historic Quayside with the town centre, providing a clear link between the two areas. The Sea Music Sculpture stands on Poole Quay as a distinct work of public art.
The Poole Old Lifeboat Museum documents the history of the RNLI in Poole from 1865 to the present day. It is housed in the former boathouse of the Poole Lifeboat Station, which was based there from 1882 to 1974. The former station building is therefore itself connected to the museum’s maritime subject. The dates refer to different things: one covers the history of the RNLI in Poole, while the other indicates the period when the station was based in the boathouse.
Comparing the park and the old town
Poole Park is a family-friendly, 110-acre parkland that retains its original Victorian layout. Its size and historic design give the park a different character from the individual buildings, exhibits and streets that feature in the town’s history. The Cockle Trail, by contrast, focuses on exploring the historic old town: the walk is self-guided and takes about an hour. This makes it easy to distinguish a clearly defined walk through the old town from a visit to a spacious parkland. Which of these perspectives interests you most can shape your focus in Poole.
Discover more destinations: Thorncombe, Iwerne Minster, Hamworthy, Horton, Iwerne Courtney, Sherborne, Charmouth, Verwood.
For the wider travel overview: Dorset.
