Poole is a coastal town, port and tourist destination in the traditional county of Dorset in southern England. The town has a population of 138,299 (2001) and is famed for its large natural harbour, situated on the shores of the English Channel. Poole is positioned on a very popular stretch of coastline, with the resort of Bournemouth to the east, Studland and the Jurassic coast to the south-west. The town has grown rapidly, and Sandbanks, a small sand spit across part of the harbour mouth, is so popular that it has the fourth highest land value, by area, in the world. There are exclusive homes both on Sandbanks and the whole of the area stretching east from the Harbour to The Avenue (the eastern boundary of Poole).
Prominent employers in Poole include Barclays Bank, Hamworthy Engineering, Poole Packaging, Sunseeker, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Ryvita
Poole Harbour (said to be the second largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney) has been a working port for many hundreds of years, though the port has declined somewhat as the shallow water cannot take the largest ships. The harbour is noted for its ecology, supporting saltmarsh, mudflats and an internationally important population of wintering waterfowl as well as the Brownsea Island nature reserve, where the Scouting movement began. Today the port is amongst other things the home of Sunseeker, manufacturers of luxury yachts, and the departure point for ferries (Brittany Ferries and Condor) to France and the Channel Islands. The quayside and harbour was the place from which some ships departed for the D-Day landings of World War II
Poole Harbour is a popular location for watersports because it is sheltered and calm. 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 is also noted for its motorcycle speedway team, the Poole Pirates.
Poole's football team is Poole Town FC.which plays in Wessex League Division 1.
Poole has a variety of entertainment sites, from the out-of-town development Tower Park, the refurbished arts centre now known as The Lighthouse, Poole town centre itself and Bournemouth's many clubs, bars and restaurants
The boundaries of Poole include Hamworthy, Upton, Broadstone, Merley, Wimborne, Canford Heath, Tower Park, Parkstone, Branksome, Wallisdown, Talbot Village, Sandbanks, Kinson, Winton, Westborne; it merges with Bournemouth towards the eastern edge of town
Poole Hotel, Poole Bed and Breakfast, Poole Cheap Hotel accommodation suitable for a Poole Weekend Break, a Poole City Break, Poole Wedding Accommodation, Poole Guys Night out, Poole Girls Night out or even a Poole Stag Night or a Poole Hen Night
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