Poole is on the coast, on the South West Coast Path
The sea makes up 26% of the area within 5 km. The Dorset National Landscape begins 0.1 mi from the city’s edge. Footpaths add up to 303 km in the city and the kilometre around it, 3.4 for every square kilometre. Poole grades A for the outdoors: #5 of 30 in Dorset. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Poole’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by its views.
Outdoors grade
Poole grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Poole, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A
Better than 93% of UK towns#5 of 30 in Dorset · 4th of 46 UK cities its size
Public green space2.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
59out of 100
A park within a walk81%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
49out of 100
National Park or National Landscape20%of the land within 5 km
78out of 100
Footpaths3.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
69out of 100
The sea26%of the area within 5 km
91out of 100
Graded, never part of the overall grade (like History and Civic life). It measures what is mapped: OS Open Greenspace leaves out woodland and open-access land that isn’t a park, and OpenStreetMap’s rural paths are more complete in some places than others.
Cities its size
Poole is 4th of 46 UK cities its size for the outdoors
The 46 UK towns and cities of 99,000 to 190,000 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
Poole3.4
Cities its size4.3
Dorset towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Poole2.5
Cities its size2.5
Dorset towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Poole81%
Cities its size85%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
Poole falls furthest behind on path per km², where 33 of the 45 others do better.
The biggest is Upton Country Park, 63 ha (155 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 28 named parks by size: 233 ha (575 acres) and 41 km of path
Parks & gardens 221 haPlaying fields 11 haPlay spaces 1.0 ha
The two biggest, Upton Country Park and Turbary Common, are 46% of the named green space and carry 14 km of path between them. 15 of the 28 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
8 in 10 Poole residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (81%)Further (19%)
Poole81%
Cities its size85%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 27,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 116 playgrounds are mapped in and around the city, about one for every 1,216 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Dorset and Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs both start about 2 miles from Poole
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the built-up area; circle size shows each one’s area. National Landscapes were called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty until 2023.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
National Landscape
Dorset
0.1 mi south1,129 km²since 195918% of the land within 5 km
20% of the land within 5 km of Poole is National Park or National Landscape, more than 78% of UK towns. New Forest National Park covers 567 km² and has been a National Park since 2006.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Poole is on the South West Coast Path
303 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Poole and the kilometre around it, 3.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the city.
NationalRegionalLocalOther waymarked
Poole Harbour Trails 612.4 km
Poole Harbour Trails 111.4 km
Bourne Valley Greenway walk8.9 km
Castleman Trailway7.3 km
Poole Coast Path6.3 km
Poole Harbour Trails 5b6.1 km
Bournemouth Coast Path3.6 km
Viewpoints and Woodland Walk, Brownsea Island2.8 km
South West Coast Path (Section 52: Worth Matravers to South Haven Point)2.4 km
Scouting and Maryland Walk, Brownsea Island2.3 km
All Terrain Wheelchair Route, Brownsea Island1.9 km
Wildlife and Wetland Walk, Brownsea Island1.9 km
Shipstal trail1.4 km
Cordite Way0.9 km
Heathland Walk, Brownsea Island0.9 km
Calming Cambridge Woods, Brownsea Island0.8 km
Plus 2 more waymarked walks on the map.
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Poole. Close to home, the Poole Harbour Trails 1 has 11 km of local walk within 2 km of the city. The regional route here is the Two Bays Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
4 historic parks, and what stands in them
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Poole’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade II
Poole Park
16 ha. A registered historic park (Grade II). 0 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
Registered · Grade II*Compton Acres3.0 ha
Registered · Grade IIPoole Cemetery5.5 ha
Registered · Grade IIUpper, Central and Lower Pleasure Gardens, and Coy Pond Gardens3.3 ha
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Poole: May to September
The city’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Daylight (h)
8.4
9.9
11.7
13.7
15.5
16.5
16.1
14.5
12.5
10.6
8.9
8.0
High (°C)
9
9
11
14
17
20
22
22
19
16
12
9
Rain (mm)
99
72
61
61
50
56
51
61
67
116
118
109
May is the driest month (50 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 118 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 28 nights a year. The climate in Poole →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Poole
26% of the area within 5 km of Poole is sea. 45 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 11 with a name.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
39 viewpoints and 116 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the city in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK city its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Upton, 2.9 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 84% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Upton has at least twice Poole’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Poole
What is the biggest park in Poole?
Upton Country Park, 63 ha (155 acres), with 9.9 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Turbary Common (45 ha) is second. 28 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the city or within 400 m of it.
Is Poole near a National Park?
Yes. New Forest National Park begins 5.8 mi north-east of the city’s edge. It covers 567 km² and has been a National Park since 2006. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Dorset National Landscape, 0.1 mi away.
What are the best walks near Poole?
18 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the city, including the Poole Harbour Trails 6, Poole Harbour Trails 1 and Bourne Valley Greenway walk. Upton Country Park alone has 9.9 km of path.
How many people in Poole live near a park?
81% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical UK town is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Poole?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Poole are historic?
Poole Cemetery (Grade II), Poole Park (Grade II), Upper, Central and Lower Pleasure Gardens, and Coy Pond Gardens (Grade II) and Compton Acres (Grade II*) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Poole good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 69% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 59% (2.5 ha per 1,000 residents).
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Poole’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: John Norris · CC BY-SA 2.0