Poole

I went down for my friend’s 21st birthday. Her family had booked a night out on a boat off Poole Quay. It was a really lovely night, and they showed us some sights, and we had a party onboard with a buffet and a DJ. I would recommend this place, if you like small places with a nice atmosphere. I love going here!

It’s absolutely beautiful.

I remember it from when I was studying my MA (1998-2000).

Actually, it’s not that bad. It covers a very large area, which ranges wildly in affluence – from the pretty poor to the incredibly rich (quite a few celebs). We live in the middle, in Parkstone. This is pretty handy for both Poole Centre and Bournemouth – about 10 mins from either. Shopping is good and if you look hard enough, there is plenty of history – particularly on the Quay. The latter is also the ideal place for a pub crawl..loads of typically quaint little beamed inns. Plenty of nice bistros and very posh restaurants too. The Quay has recently been massacred with yet another ridiculous development of millionaire apartments.

If I had to say the one thing that breaks my heart with this area, it would be the destruction of our architectural heritage. Any decent sized Victorian or Edwardian house (and there are many where I live) will be sold to developers – it is the law around here. They bulldoze the beautiful building – destroy and flatten its pretty garden/orchard and put up a travesty of a block of flats – looking more like something out of Toy Town! Oh well. I guess if I was offered twice the market value for my house, I’d have to think about it!

Ok. So Poole is pretty ordinary. Some nice pubs and restaurants. One of the World’s largest harbours. Fantastic scenery all around. Beautiful Quay. That’s about it.