Poole Museum

Poole, Dorset

Our View
The most visited free attraction in Dorset, Poole Museum offers a great time for all in historic quayside buildings in Poole’s Old Town. Discover the remarkable story of this historic port and its harbour, and see outstanding new exhibits, such as the magnificent carved rudder from the age of Rembrandt, recovered from the Swash Channel Wreck. There are digital and paper trails, and visitors enjoy the interactive 1950s kitchen and the birds of Poole Harbour in our hide.
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About The area
Discover Dorset
Dorset means rugged varied coastlines and high chalk downlands. Squeezed in among the cliffs and set amid some of Britain’s most beautiful scenery is a chain of picturesque villages and seaside towns. Along the coast you’ll find the Lulworth Ranges, which run from Kimmeridge Bay in the east to Lulworth Cove in the west. Together with a stretch of East Devon, this is Britain’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, noted for its layers of shale and numerous fossils embedded in the rock. Among the best-known natural landmarks on this stretch of the Dorset coast is Durdle Door, a rocky arch that has been shaped and sculpted to perfection by the elements. The whole area has the unmistakable stamp of prehistory.
Away from Dorset’s magical coastline lies a landscape with a very different character and atmosphere, but one that is no less appealing. Here, winding, hedge-lined country lanes lead beneath lush, green hilltops to snug, sleepy villages hidden from view and the wider world. The people of Dorset are justifiably proud of the achievements of Thomas Hardy, its most famous son, and much of the county is immortalised in his writing.
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