Culture in Poole

For those interested in art, the Towngate Gallery & Art Centre can be found on Benson Road, which is about a five-minute drive from our Poole North hotel. Inside you’ll find a diverse range of art from around the country, although there’s a clear emphasis on artists from Poole, Bournemouth and the surrounding area.

From traditional paintings to contemporary pieces, it’s worth a visit if you’re thinking of picking up a souvenir during your stay in Poole. There’s also a wide range of pottery, glassware, jewellery and sculpture to look at as well, with something for every budget.

If you’re planning a shopping trip to Poole High Street, then you could also call into the Guildhall Gallery, which offers a similar range of artwork, albeit from smaller premises.

If you want to delve into the history of Poole and its people, then be sure to head down to the quayside and pay a visit to Poole Museum. It has a huge range of exhibits across its four historic buildings and Scaplen’s Court, with something to intrigue or inspire everyone.

On top of that, you can make your way down the waterfront to the RNLI Poole Lifeboat Museum, which was first established as a working lifeboat station in 1882 before becoming a museum in 1974.

Poole’s events contribute a lot to the culture of the area. Poole Harbour Festival is one of the biggest and best. It takes over Baiter Park for three days towards the end of July when the weather, theoretically, is at its best.

The waterfront location of Poole Harbour is a lovely spot to see some live music across the festival’s three stages, which host more than 30 acts over the long weekend. There’s also a beer tent which is chock-a-block with beers, ciders and street food.

The lineup is a fun mix of cover acts as well as smaller bands and artists, so you could catch the next big thing before singing along to crowd-pleasers from some of the biggest bands in the world, including the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, and Mumford & Sons.

Another holiday-season highlight in Poole is Rockley’s Summer Spectacular. Every Thursday throughout July and August, it brings a mixture of street entertainment, live music, fun activities and fireworks extravaganzas to Poole Quay, with something new each and every week. It’s absolutely free and well worth checking out if you’re staying at our Poole Centre hotel during the midsummer months.

Sandbanks Beach is also home to a couple of sporting events you may want to check out in July. Head down to witness the spectacle of the British Beach Polo Championships and stay for the after parties. Plus, there’s also the Sandbanks Beach Volleyball Festival that’s a lot of fun too.