Our founder members are two Dorset walkers who research new routes for the Ramblers.
With the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001, access to the countryside was severely restricted. Looking
for something to keep them busy during this time, they had the idea of investigating whether it was
possible to walk around Poole Harbour, keeping close to the shoreline.
They explored a possible route and although they could see there were some potential problems, decided to
pursue the idea. They consulted local groups and organisations and discovered that there was a lot of interest
in such a project.
The Poole Harbour Trails Community Group was set up to look at the possibility of dedicating a trail for walking and cycling round Poole Harbour. It was decided that, in the short term, it would make sense to have the trail following current public rights of way. Five out of six possible walks could be designed reasonably easily this way.
