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Attractions Nearby Poole (Poole, Dorset, England)



Poole is full of many fantastic tourist attractions, but within a short journey from the town are countless other superb attractions well worth a visit. Whether you are looking for historical attractions in Poole, beautifully landscaped gardens or parks, you can be sure that you won't have to travel far. Here are some of the top tourist attractions nearby Poole.

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Bournemouth - Poole, England
Bournemouth is situated just 8 km / 5 miles east of Poole and is best known for its spectacular golden beaches, which stretch for over 11 km / 7 miles along the seafront. The beaches, combined with sheltered, clear bathing waters, have always been one of the major tourist attractions in Bournemouth and during the summer, the sunny Bournemouth beaches provide the perfect place for sunbathing, building sand castles, paddling, swimming, surfing, and general seaside fun in Bournemouth. Popular beaches in the Bournemouth area include Alum Chine, Durley Chine, High Cliffe and Southbourne, which are all easy to reach from Bournemouth town centre.




Bournemouth's spectacular Victorian Pleasure Gardens are situated in the heart of the town centre, next to Bournemouth's seafront and the shopping area. Created in the 1840s for the Meyrick family, the Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens cover around 17.5 hectares / 45 acres and lie either side of the shallow River Bourne stream. Bournemouth's beautiful Pleasure Gardens have won many national awards and attractions at the Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens include flower borders with colourful bedding plants, picnic areas and the famous 'Bournemouth Eye', an enormous helium-filled balloon with an enclosed basket, carrying passengers to around 150 metres / 500 feet, the highest public observation point in Bournemouth.

There are an enormous range of tourist attractions in Bournemouth, and these include the historic Bournemouth Pier, Bournemouth International Centre, the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth's Pier Theatre, Bournemouth's Sheridan IMAX Cinema, and nearby Compton Acres Gardens.

Visit our Bournemouth World Guide for further details...

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Isle of Wight - Poole, England
The Isle of Wight is the perfect place for a relaxing break at any time of the year, and the Isle of Wight's extremely mild climate is well suited to outdoor activities. These include numerous golf courses, watersports, yachting regattas, popular sailing festivals and important boat races. Situated just 3.5 km / 2 miles from the Hampshire shoreline, there are almost 400 ferry and hovercraft crossings each day, the fastest of which taking less than 10 minutes from nearby Portsmouth. The Isle of Wight has a surprising variety of landscapes and coastal scenery on the island, including rivers, woodland areas and chalky downland.

The Isle of Wight has numerous popular beaches, combined with sheltered, clear bathing waters. With over 40 km / 25 miles of clean and unspoilt beaches, these have always been one of the major tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight. During the summer, the sunny Isle of Wight beaches provide the perfect place for sunbathing, building sand castles, paddling, swimming, and general seaside fun on the Isle of Wight. There are also a large number of cycle trails and over 800 km / 500 miles of well-marked walking paths and bridleways, which make the Isle of Wight one of the best spots in the United Kingdom for walking. Over half of the Isle of Wight is actually designated as an 'area of outstanding beauty'. The Isle of Wight is situated just 67 km / 42 miles from Poole.

Visit our Isle of Wight World Guide for further details...

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Christchurch - Poole, England
Christchurch is a small town located 16 km / 10 miles from central Poole and is best known for its impressive church, the Christchurch Priory, which is larger than most cathedrals. This area is also well-known for its expensive property, and many houses in Christchurch are actually more expensive than their equivalent in New York.

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Boscombe
Just 11 km / 7 miles from Poole, Boscombe is a charming seaside town and has wide, sandy beaches, a large pier, a number of gardens, an excellent shopping centre with many restaurants, and several top nightclubs. Boscombe is well-known for its colourful illuminations, which light up the Boscombe seafront at night.

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Wimborne - Poole, England
The small market town of Wimborne is full of character and is 11 km / 7 miles from Poole. This attractive town is centred around Wimborne's interesting old minster and other tourist attractions include a number of museums and a model town of Wimborne as it was in the 1950s.

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Salisbury - Poole, England
Salisbury is the only city in Wiltshire and is home to some of the most historic landmarks in England. These Salisbury landmarks include Salisbury's world-famous Stonehenge, situated on the spreading Salisbury Plain, and the enormous Salisbury Cathedral, which is regarded as one of the finest medieval cathedrals in the United Kingdom and was built around 800 years ago. Salisbury has an enormous range of tourist attractions to offer visitors from Poole, and is less than one hour from Poole.

Tourist attractions at Salisbury include Old Sarum Castle - an enormous Iron Age hillfort of Old Salisbury which became a medieval settlement, and now contains the ancient ruins of a large castle, Old Wardour Castle - famous for its battle in 1643, when Parliamentarian forces took control of this Salisbury castle, the Rockbourne Roman Villa - the largest and most ancient villa in the area , including a nearby modern museum, with a number of interesting exhibits, Stourhead House and Gardens - featuring some of the most spectacular landscaped gardens in the west country, and Salisbury City Hall Entertainment Centre - a large entertainment centre in central Salisbury with regular national shows, local events and festivals, exhibitions, lectures and concerts.

Visit our Salisbury World Guide for further details...

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Breamore House and Gardens - near Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 2DF, England
Tel: +44 (0)1275 512468
The impressive Breamore Manor House is situated in the scenic village of Breamore, 33 km / 21 miles from central Poole. Overlooking the Avon Valley and surrounding countryside, the house was completed in 1583 and tourist attractions include a museum with one of the finest collections of steam powered farm machinery in the country, many exceptional works of art, and a large, medieval turf maze.
Attraction open: daily - 14:00 to 17:30
Attraction admission: charge, discounts available for children and families

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Stonehenge - Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7DE
Tel: +44 (0)1980 624715
Visit this World Heritage site, one of the most remarkable and intriguing monuments in the United Kingdom. As old as the great temples and pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge exerts a mysterious fascination. Stonehenge is one of the major tourist attractions in this part of England, close to Poole, and regular guide buses run daily from the Poole area to Stonehenge. The enormous bluestones were brought all the way from South Wales by sheer manpower, a feat hard to imagine possible. The monument of Stonehenge is precisely situated to face the rising and setting of the sun and many Druids worship here. Make time to also visit the extensive prehistoric landscape nearby. The magnificent stones of Stonehenge are surrounded by many mysterious remains of ceremonial and domestic structures - some older than the monument itself and many accessible by road or footpath. Stonehenge is situated 2 miles west of Amesbury on junction of A303 and A344 / 360 and is 66 km / 41 miles from central Poole.
Attraction open: daily, all year
Mid-March to May - 09:30 to 18:00 / June to August - 09:00 to 19:00
September to mid-October - 09:30 to 18:00 / end of October - 09:30 to 17:00
November to mid-March - 09:30 to 16:00
Attraction admission: charge

Attractions Nearby Poole: Attractions Nearby Poole - Longleat - Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NW
Tel: +44 (0)1985 844400
Voted 'UK Family Attraction of the Year 2002' by the 'Good Britain Guide', Longleat offers a great day out for all the family and is one of the most popular attractions nearby Poole, being 69 km / 43 miles from central Poole. From lions to rhinos and monkeys to giraffes, discover many of the world's most majestic creatures as they wander freely within the Safari Park. Gaze at the splendid heirlooms and treasures that fill Longleat House, get lost in the World's longest maze, travel on the miniature railway, feed the sea lions from safari boats, let the children climb and play in the Adventure Castle, and so much more. Longleat is situated just off the A36 between Bournemouth and Salisbury, on the A362 between Warminster and Frome. The attractions at Longleat are often very busy at the weekends during the summer months, so Longleat is best visited on weekdays at this time of the year, to avoid the crowds and queues.
Attraction open: daily, April to early November
Attraction admission: charge, discounts available for children

Other popular tourist attractions close in Poole include:

• Blackgang Chine - Blackgang, Ventnor, PO38 2HN, England
• Bluebell Railway - Sheffield Park Station, Uckfield, TN22 3QL, England
• Brading Experience - Isle of Wight Waxworks, 46 High Street Brading, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 0DQ, England
• Burley Wagon Rides - Stavegate Mill Lane, Burley, Ringwood, BH24 4HP, England
• Bramble Bush Bay Ferry - Ferry Road Studland, Swanage, BH19 3BA, England
• BSCC Millstream Raceway - Unit 11 Millstream Trading Estate Christchurch Road, Ringwood, BH24 3SB, England
• Chessington World of Adventures - Leatherhead Road, Chessington, KT9 2NE, England
• East Somerset Railway - Cranmore Railway Station, Shepton Mallet, BA4 4QP, England
• Indulgence Charters - 20 High Street Wendover, Aylesbury, HP22 6EA, England
• Medieval Masterpieces of Bere Regis - Church of St. John the Baptist, Bere Regis, England
• Mid-hants Railway - The Watercress Line, The Railway Station, Alresford, SO24 9JG, England
• New Barn Field Centre - Bradford Peverell, Dorchester, DT2 9SD, England
• Osborne House (English Heritage) - Osborne House York Avenue, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, PO32 6JY, England
• Quay Brewery - Brewers Quay Hope Square, Weymouth, DT4 8TR, England
• Queen Elizabeth Country Park - Gravell Hill Horndean, Waterlooville, PO8 0QE, England
• Rockbourne Roman Villa - Rockbourne, Fordingbridge, SP6 3PG, England
• RSPB Birdboats - Commercial Yard Wool, Wareham, BH20 6HE, England
• Steam Ship Shield Hall - PO Box 1028, Southampton, SO18 1XT, England
• Swanage Railway - Station House, Swanage, BH19 1HB, England
• Terracotta Warriors - High East Street, Dorchester, DT1 1JU, England
• Splashdown - Tower Park, Poole, BH12 4NY, England

 
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