Middle Beach is a small beach on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The beach is located north of Studland and is owned by the National Trust. [1]
The beach has views of Poole from across Studland Bay and Poole Harbour. [2]
A café has stood in the same spot since 1904 and the current building opened in 1953. [3] In 2016, when the National Trust announced that they would be moving the café and public toilets to higher ground due to "coastal erosion and subsidence", 3,000 people signed a petition opposing the move. [4] Plans to demolish the café were later rejected by a vote of National Trust members at their annual general meeting. [5] In November 2022 the café was condemned to be demolished after the lease on the property ran out. [6] The café is scheduled to close 2 January 2023. [7]
On 31 December 2021, police closed the car park after a World War I grenade was uncovered. [8] On 4 August 2022, an unexploded World War II shell was found on Middle Beach and was detonated by Royal Navy's bomb disposal team. [9]
Dorset is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi), Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester, in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974, the county border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is 21 miles (34 km) east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which is a unitary authority. Poole had an estimated population of 151,500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the conurbation has a total population of nearly 400,000.
Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck.
Studland is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The village is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of Swanage, over a steep chalk ridge, and 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the South East Dorset conurbation at Sandbanks, from which it is separated by Poole Harbour. The parish includes Brownsea Island within the harbour. In the 2011 census the parish had 182 households and a population of 425, though many of the houses in the village are holiday homes, second homes, or guest houses, and the village's population varies depending upon the season.
The Studland and Godlingston Heaths NNR is located on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It borders Studland Bay on the south side of Poole Harbour, between the settlements of Swanage and Sandbanks. Extending to 631ha, it is owned and managed by the National Trust following the Bankes bequest of the Kingston Lacy estate. Studland & Godlingston Heath is designated as one of only 35 "spotlight reserves" in England by Natural England in the list of national nature reserves in England and is listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow, with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay.
Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour.
Branksome is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The area consists of residential properties and also a number of commercial and industrial areas.
Westbourne is an affluent residential and shopping area of Bournemouth, Dorset. It is located in between Branksome, Poole and the centre of Bournemouth, just off the A338. Poole Road, mainly full of specialised shops and small cafes, runs through the centre of Westbourne with Seamoor Road curving round bringing more shops and services. Many of the shops have residential property above them.
Beales is an English department store chain, which currently operates 3 branches, in Peterborough, Poole and Southport. The former flagship store, Beales in Bournemouth, was established as The Fancy Fair by John Elmes Beale in 1881 and was the biggest department store in Dorset. The chain expanded through acquiring other department stores and continued to run two stores branded as Palmers in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft until its closure.
Canford Heath is a suburb and area of heathland in Poole, Dorset, known for being the largest heathland in Dorset, and the largest lowland heath in the UK. It is also the name of the housing development built on the heathland in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The area is split into two wards, and at the 2011 census the combined population of the two wards was 14,079.
Yellow Buses was a bus operator based in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. Yellow Buses was the trading name for Bournemouth Transport Ltd. The company fell into administration in July 2022 and ceased operations on 4 August 2022.
Sandbanks Ferry is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the entrance of Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. The route runs from Sandbanks to Studland and in doing so connects the coastal parts of the towns of Bournemouth and Poole with Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck. This avoids a 25-mile journey by road on a return trip.
Wilts & Dorset is a bus and coach operator providing services in East Dorset, South Wiltshire, and West Hampshire. It operates services under the morebus brand around Bournemouth and Poole, and under the Salisbury Reds brand around Salisbury and Amesbury. It is part of Go South Coast, a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
The history of Poole, a town in Dorset, England, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement around Poole Harbour during the Iron Age. The town now known as Poole was founded on a small peninsula to the north of the harbour. Poole experienced rapid growth as it became an important port following the Norman Conquest of England.
Poole Hospital is an acute general hospital in Poole, Dorset, England. Built in 1907, it has expanded from a basic 14-bed facility into a 789-bed hospital. It is the trauma centre for east Dorset and provides specialist services such as cancer treatment for the entire county. It is managed by the University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital was managed by Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust until the merger with The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 1 October 2020.
The Dolphin Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Poole, Dorset, England, formerly known as the Arndale Centre.
Healthcare in Dorset was primarily the responsibility of Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group until July 2022. Dorset County Council is leading in the development of an electronic health record, to be called the Dorset Care Record, provided by Orion Health. It is intended to enable all health and social care providers to share records.
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust manages three hospitals in South East Dorset. It was formed following the merger of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The 2020 Wareham Forest fire was a forest fire in Wareham Forest, Dorset, in May 2020. It destroyed over 220 Hectares of the forest, and was described a "one of the most devastating fires in Dorset, in living memory" by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.