Most visitors to Poole see Sandbanks, the Quay and not much else. Here is what is three streets behind them.
The Old Town
Walk up from the Quay and within two minutes you are in one of the better-preserved historic quarters on the south coast: Georgian merchant houses, the Guildhall, Scaplen’s Court, and streets paid for by salt cod. The Cockle Trail links them, marked in the pavement, free. See Poole Old Town.
The heath
Across the water at Arne, lowland heath that has largely vanished from Europe, holding species that live almost nowhere else in Britain. Views back over the harbour. Keep to the paths.
The quiet shore
Upton Country Park and Hamworthy on the western side: parkland, shoreline, and in winter a mudflat full of waders. Almost nobody from the beaches comes here.
The harbour itself
From a boat or a board, the harbour is a different place entirely: shallow, enormous, and dotted with islands most people never see. See Poole Harbour.
Ashley Cross
Where Poole actually eats, as opposed to where visitors eat. See Ashley Cross.
More: beyond the beach.