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Located in the
County of Dorset, Poole is an
English Channel port possessing the second largest natural
harbour in the world, with a shoreline of some 84 kilometres. Please click on the
links for an
aerial view or a panoramic view of
Poole harbour. Click
Panoramic
for a view of Holes Bay.
The Town dates back to at least the 13th century and has rich maritime
history, evident in the charming buildings of the Old Town and Quay.
Poole's golden age as a port was from the late 16th to the early 19th
century as a result of it's important trading role in support of
Newfoundland fishing. Though there has been a marked shift from commercial
shipping to leisure craft in recent years, there remains a cross channel
Brittany ferry
link with the Port of Cherbourg in France and the
Condor car ferry
link to the Channel Islands and to St.Malo in France. Within the Harbour
are five Islands. The largest of these is
Brownsea Island,
selected by
Lord Baden Powell
as the site of the first experimental
Boy Scout camp in 1907. It is now a National
Trust nature reserve.
Furzey Island is the site of a British Petroleum drilling facility,
which is setting records for extended reach drilling under the harbour.
Nearby
Wytch
Farm is the largest producing onshore oilfield in Western Europe.
Poole has become a major tourism and yachting centre due to it's many
miles of sandy beaches and first class marinas, fine shopping and
beautiful surrounding countryside. In addition to the quay, harbour and
beaches,
tourist attractions include the world famous
Poole Pottery,
Poole Lighthouse complex,
Poole Park,
Compton Acres
Gardens, the restored Town, as well as many fine restaurants and
quaint old Pubs. Poole
serves as the headquarters of the
Royal National Lifeboat
Institute(R.N.L.I)
 and
Barclays Bank International.
Other world-renowned businesses include
Sunseeker International and
Penske Racing . And within an hours drive of
Poole are a large number
of interesting attractions including
Bournemouth (also with fine
beaches-shopping and entertainment),
Christchurch
(Priory),
New Forest,
Badbury
Rings ( Iron age
hill fort, prehistorical burial mounds),
Dorchester
County Town, market,
Thomas Hardy's
home,
Maiden Castle
an
ancient fort).
Blandford Forum,
Salisbury
(Cathedral) Old Sarum,
Stonehenge ,
Wimborne,
Shaftesbury,
Sherborne.
The Isle of
Purbeck
(beautiful countryside,
Swanage,
Lulworth Cove,
Kimmeridge Bay,
Weymouth,
Isle of Portland,
Chesil
Bank,
Abbotsbury.
Corfe Castle ( ruins of a 12th century
Norman Castle ),
Clouds Hill Home
of T.E. Lawrence of Arabia,
Lyme Regis ( Old Cobb, 'French
Lieutenants Woman' locale, palentology), Cerne Abbas (
Cerne Giant, hillside chalk figure).
Poole has plenty of marine activities fishing, windsurfing, diving,
water-ski-ing, sailing. As you can see there are plenty of interesting
places for a visitor to explore and enjoy.
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