What to See & Do in Poole
Sights
Lighthouse Arts Centre: one of the largest arts centre in the United Kingdom outside of London, Lighthouse Arts Centre houses a 669-seat theatre, 1,500-seat concert hall, 150-seat studio, 105-seat cinema, an Image Lab/Media Suite, a large gallery for photography and digital art, a restaurant and three function rooms. It is situated just outside the main shopping centre off the High Street, and is a short walk from the centre of town and Baiter Park.
Old Town House: this house was built as the headquarters of pre-Reformation Guild of St George. The exhibits displayed are devoted to local history and include pottery, china, arms, armour, ships and shipping. There is a dug-out canoe of the Bronze Age, which was raised from Poole Harbour in 1964.
Poole Museum: all the collections here are of local interest. The archaeology section includes Roman pottery and coins, the history section includes pottery, trade tokens, weapons and armour, and there are sections devoted to maritime history and local fauna.
Beaches: Poole holds International Blue Flags for its 5 km of sandy beaches stretching along the Sandbanks peninsula; they are cleaned and raked regularly during the season. There are dog-free zones and various activity areas for water sports and swimming. The two main beaches are Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs.
Poole Park: the park offers something for all the family. Children can feed the ducks and swans, ride on the miniature railway or play in Gus Gorilla’s Jungle Playground. Adults can watch cricket, model racing yachts, admire the formal flower beds, play crazy golf, mini pitch and putt or hire a tennis court. From Rockley Watersports you can hire a pedalo, kayak or sailing dinghy to try out on Poole Park Lake.
Food & Drink
Poole has a variety of eating places to frequent. There are the usual fast food outlets, but also more up-market restaurants for wining and dining. Prices are dependent on the venue but are on the whole fairly reasonable. As this isn’t a large town, most of the restaurants, bars and clubs are close to each other.
Transport
You can hire bikes from Cycle Paths at Dolphin Shopping Centre. Cycling on the promenade is unrestricted from the middle of September to the middle of June, but the rest of the year is limited to before 10:00 and after 19:00.
There are two main taxi ranks, one at Dolphin Shopping Centre and the other a 24-hour taxi rank at Poole railway station. Alternatively, there are two evening taxi ranks, one in Lower High Street (by the Hogs Head public house) and the other on the Quay.
Inside the large undercover Dolphin Shopping Centre is the bus station, and the railway station is also close to the town centre. The long High Street is pedestrianised.
