Get in
See
Do
Buy
Eat
Most restaurants are along the quay.
Drink
There are lots of pubs along the quay and a little inland.
Sleep
There are many hotels and guesthouses in Poole, especially in the town centre. There are also camping sites in neighbouring towns such as Swanage and Merley. There is a Youth Hostel in Swanage and is run by the YHA.
:For people with Poole as surname, see Poole (disambiguation)
Poole is the head quarters for Merlin Entertainments, the worlds second largest theme park operator after Disney
Culture, recreation, and entertainment
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 (charged) 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 will be hosts of the J24 European Championship Regatta.
Poole's best known sports team is its motorcycle speedway team, the Poole Pirates. Poole's oldest football team is Poole Town F.C. who play in the Wessex League Premier Division. Poole Borough F.C. play in the Dorset Premier League.
Poole's entertainment sites include Tower Park, the refurbished arts centre now known as The Lighthouse, Poole town centre itself and Bournemouth's clubs, bars and restaurants.
Poole Museum re-opens in June 2007, following a refurbishment and extension funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The extension, designed by architects Horden Cherry Lee, includes a balcony with views over the Old Town and Harbour. Entrance will be free.
Poole is twinned with Cherbourg in France.
Transport
The majority of local bus services in Poole are provided by Wilts and Dorset who are based at the town’s bus station. Other services are run by Transdev Yellow Buses and Roadliner. There are limited services provided by First. Coach services to London and other destinations are operated by National Express.
Poole has four railway stations on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth within the Borough. These are, from east to west, Branksome near the border with Bournemouth, Parkstone, Poole in the town centre and Hamworthy serving Hamworthy and Upton. Poole railway station has the most frequent service and is served by express and semi-fast services to and from London Waterloo and also a local stopping service between Wareham and Brockenhurst.
Poole is a cross channel port for passengers and freight with up to seven sailings a day in the peak summer season. Services to Cherbourg in France are operated by Brittany Ferries who provide a year round service. A seasonal service to the Channel Islands and St Malo, France, is run by Condor Ferries.
Poole is close to Bournemouth International Airport which is actually in the Borough of Christchurch.
Again, continuing the makeover of the town, Poole may be introducing a new state-of-the-art Tram system and improved rail links. Also, with a new ferry route to Spain in the near future.
Schools
Places of interest
Gallery
Image:PooleCivcCentreandPark.jpg|Entrance to Poole Park and the Civic Centre in the background
Image:Historic_old_Poole.jpg|Historic Old Poole - Close up of Market Street
Image:St_James_Church_poole.jpg|Historic Old Poole - St James Church
Image:Thames_street_Museum_poole.jpg|Historic Old Poole - Thames Street and Poole Museum and Local History Centre
Image:Historic_old_poole2.jpg|Historic Old Poole - View from the Old Town Hall down Market Street
Image:Old_town_hall_poole.jpg|Historic Old Poole - The Old Town Hall
Image:poole.quay.750pix.jpg|The Quay, looking west towards Hamworthy
Image:the.quay.at.poole.arp.jpg|The Quay, looking east towards Parkstone
Image:poole.viewfromharbour.arp.jpg|The waterfront seen from the harbour
Image:Poole_beachsign.jpg|Welcome to Poole Sign near Sandbanks Beach
Image:poole.sunseeker.arp.jpg|The Sunseeker boat-building factory on the Poole waterfront (the larger of the three yachts is a sunseeker)
Image:poole.quay.street.arp.jpg|The Old High Street
Image:PooleParkLake1.jpg|The Poole Park Lake
Image:PooleParkLake2.jpg|Another View of the Poole Park Lake, looking North
Image:PooleCentrePan1.jpg|The Lighthouse Arts Centre
Image:PooleCentrePan2.jpg|The Town centre - Barclays Bank Offices (background) and the Dolphin Shopping Centre (Left)
External links
References
