Visiting Poole Harbour

LadyInBed said:
I'm not sure that Poole is reliant on the tourist trade, apart from being a ferry port.
Click to expand...

Of course it does. Sandbanks beach was wall to wall people when I came through East Looe on Thursday. what about the queues on the A31 every weekend and the explosion in apartment buildings that are commonly second homes or holiday lets, plus all the mobile home parks like rockley and camping/caravan sites around the town?

Ferry port is much reduced - down 50% in the last 10 years as cheap flights and the tunnel have eaten into the ferry trade. Being replaced by anticipated growth in cruise ship visits using the new quay. First big ship arrive at the end of August with 1000 berths.
 
It will be interesting to see how they get the punters off the ship and Hamworthy ( I don't know of this new quay but am guessing it will be on the outside by the ferry port ) and where they deposit them, for how long a stay.

I haven't vsited Fowey in years, but a friend who goes there often swears the locals have two sets of price tickets, the doubled ones applied whenever a cruise ship is due in.

Maybe it might give the impetus for Poole town centre to up its act, the last person to really improve it was Herman Goering.

If that did happen, then maybe the long proposed proper mid harbour visitors pontoon would be worth investing in and the whole place become the fantastic venue it deserves to be, without ' developing ' any of the old bits - Cobbs Quay could be dredged and made an attractive place to visit again too, if they can get the bridges to keep working and there was a transport link - Wareham could be incorporated too.
 
Last edited:
Seajet said:
It will be interesting to see how they get the punters off the ship and Hamworthy ( I don't know of this new quay but am guessing it will be on the outside by the ferry port ) and where they deposit them, for how long a stay.

I haven't vsited Fowey in years, but a friend who goes there often swears the locals have two sets of price tickets, the doubled ones applied whenever a cruise ship is due in.

Maybe it might give the impetus for Poole town centre to up its act, the last person to really improve it was Herman Goering.

If that did happen, then maybe the long proposed proper mid harbour visitors pontoon would be worth investing in and the whole place become the fantastic venue it deserves to be, without ' developing ' any of the old bits - Cobbs Quay could be dredged and made an attractive place to visit again too, if they can get the bridges to keep working and there was a transport link - Wareham could be incorporated too.
Click to expand...

Seems you have not been to Poole for a very long time.

The new South Quay is indeed an extension of the ferry terminal and is designed to take cruise ships up to 250m long, although the main market is the smaller types such as the Caledonian ships that cruise around the UK. They have been coming for many years. There is also a boat transporter offering regular services to the Med.

As I already mentioned the ferry business is in decline - in fact for a couple of years the Cherbourg service did not run. Now there are only 4 movements a day (in the summer), 2 to Cherbourg and 2 to the CIs so the traffic problems are much diminished, particularly as two of them are either early morning or late night. The cruise ships will be a mixture of start points for some sailings and sight seeing typically 2 nights for others. Usual mixture of attractions - Jurassic coast, Salisbury, Hardy country, Stonehenge as well as more local attractions.

When were you last in Poole town centre? Constant stream of redevelopment, but can't see how this should influence any visitors in small boats. Much more interest to the 150000+ local inhabitants who use it all year round.

No chance of any pontoon moorings in the harbour. The policy has (correctly) been to reduce the number of moorings on the north side of the channel, partly reflecting the general reduction in demand. Proposals to extend the Haven have failed to get planning permission on several occasions, hence the building of South Quay for the cruise trade.

Cobbs Quay will never be an attractive place to visit as it it is too remote from other attractions. It has developed a substantial Dry Stack facility for boats that can get under the bridges. The bridges will always be a constraint and limit the number of boats that use the Holes Bay moorings and berths.

Balancing the competing demands of different user groups is particular challenge in Poole because of the restrictions of the location, and personally I don't like some - particularly the explosion in housing developments that are overwhelming the infrastructure such as roads, but the main attractions of the harbour itself have been well looked after.
 
Tranona said:
Of course it does. Sandbanks beach was wall to wall people when I came through East Looe on Thursday. what about the queues on the A31 every weekend and the explosion in apartment buildings that are commonly second homes or holiday lets, plus all the mobile home parks like rockley and camping/caravan sites around the town?
Click to expand...
Isn't a lot of the traffic heading for Bournemouth?
I associate Sandbanks more with Swanage than Poole. I've always associated​ Poole/Hamworthy more with light industry.
I've no hard facts to prove it, just my long term impression.
 
Tranona said:
Seems you have not been to Poole for a very long time.

The new South Quay is indeed an extension of the ferry terminal and is designed to take cruise ships up to 250m long, although the main market is the smaller types such as the Caledonian ships that cruise around the UK. They have been coming for many years. There is also a boat transporter offering regular services to the Med.

As I already mentioned the ferry business is in decline - in fact for a couple of years the Cherbourg service did not run. Now there are only 4 movements a day (in the summer), 2 to Cherbourg and 2 to the CIs so the traffic problems are much diminished, particularly as two of them are either early morning or late night. The cruise ships will be a mixture of start points for some sailings and sight seeing typically 2 nights for others. Usual mixture of attractions - Jurassic coast, Salisbury, Hardy country, Stonehenge as well as more local attractions.

When were you last in Poole town centre? Constant stream of redevelopment, but can't see how this should influence any visitors in small boats. Much more interest to the 150000+ local inhabitants who use it all year round.

No chance of any pontoon moorings in the harbour. The policy has (correctly) been to reduce the number of moorings on the north side of the channel, partly reflecting the general reduction in demand. Proposals to extend the Haven have failed to get planning permission on several occasions, hence the building of South Quay for the cruise trade.

Cobbs Quay will never be an attractive place to visit as it it is too remote from other attractions. It has developed a substantial Dry Stack facility for boats that can get under the bridges. The bridges will always be a constraint and limit the number of boats that use the Holes Bay moorings and berths.

Balancing the competing demands of different user groups is particular challenge in Poole because of the restrictions of the location, and personally I don't like some - particularly the explosion in housing developments that are overwhelming the infrastructure such as roads, but the main attractions of the harbour itself have been well looked after.
Click to expand...

3 years ago by sail.

I know the town very well so as solo stayed to enjoy South Deep.

Cobbs Quay was an interesting place to take sailor chums from Scotland a good few years ago, just needed maintainence and transport links, now apparently dredging. I was trying to present an optimistic future for the whole area.... :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
LadyInBed said:
Isn't a lot of the traffic heading for Bournemouth?
I associate Sandbanks more with Swanage than Poole. I've always associated​ Poole/Hamworthy more with light industry.
I've no hard facts to prove it, just my long term impression.
Click to expand...

Not if you know Bournemouth !

No longer genteel old ladies, more likely druggies and raving clubbers - I wouldn't want to stay there.

The traffic you saw was probably going to or from the New Forest and West, via Poole.
 
Seajet said:
3 years ago by sail.

I know the town very well so as solo stayed to enjoy South Deep.

Cobbs Quay was an interesting place to take sailor chums from Scotland a good few years ago, just needed maintainence and transport links, now apparently dredging. I was trying to present an optimistic future for the whole area.... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Ah well, perhaps I see more as I have lived, worked and sailed here for 40 years!
 
LadyInBed said:
Isn't a lot of the traffic heading for Bournemouth?
I associate Sandbanks more with Swanage than Poole. I've always associated​ Poole/Hamworthy more with light industry.
I've no hard facts to prove it, just my long term impression.
Click to expand...

The distinctions get blurred. Sandbanks is definitely Poole - and the traffic queues are through Poole! The nature of tourism is very diverse but overall it makes a big economic contribution to the area, as well as creating problems - particularly traffic congestion that is so bad certain areas are no go for locals at weekends.
 
Poole has really turned a corner over recent years. I've lived in Bournemouth all my life and we used to say that you needed to listen to Madonna to live in Poole (in 2000, not 1984).

Bournemouth town centre is really suffering. Rows of shops closed round by Horseshoe Common, and Westover Road (once the Oxford Street of Bournemouth) is now lined with homeless people since the Odeon cinema closed, taking a number of retailers with it (Russel & Bromley being the latest to desert).

Poole on the other hand is having massive investment. The Quay has a number of restaurants and deli's and the council puts a lot of effort into summer entertainment with Tuesday night bikers nights (upward os 1500 bikes in good weather), Friday night car nights (missed the pre '83 one last week to go sailing instead), Vintage festivals and fireworks weekly.

All the money seems to be in Lower Parkstone and Ashley Cross with their metropolitan eateries with outdoor space. Bournemouth is hen/stag night central at the weekend (and hell on earth for it) - anyone local goes out in the suburbs around Poole now.
 
Poole Museum and Scapen Court are well worth a visit if you are into that sort of thing as well. The only (AFAIK) pub in the UK to have a military operation named after it has it also good for a pint or three even under the new name.
 
Poole is, like many other South Coast towns, struggling to maintain a viable High St, but having been into Bournemouth yesterday is doing far better than its’ young upstart neighbour. Improvements are being made but the Council’s ability to invest is being constrained by government austerity cuts.

Overall I think the town is doing pretty well. There is plenty to interest around the Quay and despite earlier claims of a gastronomic wasteland, some pretty good places to eat. As mentioned by others, there are a series of events is laid on throughout the summer to engage visitors and residents alike. A walk, bus or bike ride takes you to a number of places of interest around the harbour and a trip to Brownsea (by dinghy or tripper boat) is a day well spent

I think that Poole compares pretty well on the “things to do index” with most other towns on the central South Coast other than major cities like Southampton, and especially Portsmouth/Gosport.
 
Little Grebe said:
If struggling to find things to do, one can always watch members of the public interact the level crossing by the shopping center

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-en...-crossing-video-released-to-highlight-dangers
Click to expand...

It's amazing as there's a footbridge right beside it. Just too lazy/stupid to use it.



Re; what to do from Poole - slightly less exciting but far more civilised - I've been on all of these and had a great day out (and I live here). http://www.morebus.co.uk/page.shtml?pageid=980

If you don't fancy the bus catch a train to Brockenhurst and hire a bike for a pedal round the New Forest (or rent a horse if you're so inclined). Or take a tripper boat up to Wareham and relax and let some else do the work. Take a train to Christchurch and walk up to Hengistbury Head after having a wander round the Priory. If there's a concert on in the Priory then it's worth checking out as some can be very good. You could take the ferry up to Mudeford and have a very pleasant meander up the river followed a much shorter walk up Hengistbury Head (it's about 9 miles there and back from the town centre but a lovely hike along the river banks and through a nature reserve.

If you want more lively then you could grab a bus or taxi to Ashley Cross which has a good selection of bars - bit of a zoo after 11pm on a Saturday night with the youngsters out on the town but much nicer during the week. And there's still (just) the wonderful Mr Kyps http://www.mrkyps.net/ - I've had some fantastic nights there.

If you want energetic then kite-surfing at Sandbanks perhaps? Paddle boards are available for hire as well - or you could hire a jet-ski from Salterns.

In Bournemouth there's usually something going on https://www.bournemouth.co.uk/whats-on. It's Proms in the Park next weekend (excellent with great weather being forecast - book a hamper from one of the hotels if you really want to do it in style). The Air Festival is next the end of August and there's other local events on all over the place. The Regents Centre at Christchurch has some fascinating stuff sometimes and even the films tend to be quirky and intersting/fun http://www.regentcentre.co.uk/index.php.
 
The truly excellent world class Bovington Tank Museum isn't far by car, dunno if there are any transport links but if really stormbound it might well be worth hiring a car for a day or two.
 
Scala said:
Well, we’re here now and a bit storm bound. Where are the smart bits of Poole? Seen a lot of tattoos and overweight bearded ladies.
Click to expand...

I was last there a year ago, parked in the Haven for a couple of nights and found the town-centre much the same depressing scene - plus pavement congestion of fat people on mobility scooters.

Previous years' visits have been more delightful, anchoring off Brownsea (except for the time children arrived in two large expensive motor-cruisers to have an all-night rave) or borrowing an empty mooring for the night before re-fuelling and heading out again.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

T
Notices to Mariners - Week 50
Replies
2
Views
696
tillergirl
T
T
Notices to Mariners - Week 51
Replies
4
Views
635
Shaz77
S

Share this page

Top