Working for a round harbour trail

It is only two hours by train from London Waterloo to Poole on the South coast, marked by the box on this map.

The health and leisure industry is one of the fastest developing sectors in the UK and the numbers of cyclists and walkers is increasing. Given that access to new routes is always popular with these groups, the local economy is likely to reap considerable benefits from a Poole Harbour Trail.

It is possible to walk and cycle round the harbour at the moment. You will find a number of walks that are available now here and some cycling routes here.

From these walks and cycle rides, we want to create a popular open access circular trail around Poole Harbour between the two ends of the Sandbanks Ferry. The trail would comprise roads and paths with alternative routes suitable for walking, cycling and mobility vehicles. It could be walked over a long weekend or cycled in a day. This circular trail would form a ‘hub’ with additional routes leading to local attractions forming ‘spokes’.

The next stages in turning the walks and cycle rides into a National Trail are to provide waymarking along the routes and then to complete the one part of the circuit that cannot be traversed easily now, between Sandford and Upton. Here is our idea of what a walk there would look like.