I might be a bit biased but I think Dorset is one of the prettiest places in the UK - I've lived here all my life and can't imagine living anywhere else. I adore living by the sea and one of our favourite things to do in the Summer is hop on a boat and see Dorset from a different perspective.
One company who offer these trips is City Experiences who have a wide range of cruises departing from Poole Quay. Last weekend I was invited to take the family on the Poole/Swanage Sightseeing Cruise.
Throughout the Summer months there are three different departure times from Poole Quay - 10:30, 13:00 and 15:45. It takes around an hour to cruise over to Swanage and you can just stay on the boat for the return trip or you can get off and catch a later boat back. Departure times from Swanage Pier are 11:45, 14:30 and 16:45.
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| Swanage Bay, Dorset |
We wanted to spend a few hours in Swanage so we decided to catch the 10:30 boat from Poole. Check in was easy - our tickets were scanned and there were plenty of areas to sit, both inside/outside and under cover. You can also move freely around the boat which is handy if you want to try a different view! The boat also has toilets and a bar.
Luckily for us, the weather was glorious and we couldn't have picked a better day to travel by sea! Leaving Poole Quay we headed out into the Harbour and past Brownsea Island. Owned by the National Trust, Brownsea is a lovely place to visit and one of the very few places you can spot Red Squirrels in the UK.
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| Brownsea Island, Poole |
Past the golden sands of Studland Beach (did you know part of the beach is strictly for nudists?!), we sailed by the famous white stacks of Old Harry Rocks. This is the start of the Jurassic Coast - a 95 mile stretch of coastline which is the only place on Earth where you can see rocks from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods in one place - pretty impressive if you ask me!
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| Old Harry Rocks, Dorset |
Soon we were heading for Swanage Pier and time to disembark the boat. Our return boat was 14:30 which gave us 2.5 hours to explore. We love Swanage, it's such a lovely little seaside town and definitely worth a visit if you are coming to Dorset. We had a nice stroll up to Peveril Point which gives you a fantastic view over Swanage Bay followed by fish and chips on the seafront. You can't come to Swanage and not get fish and chips!
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| Walking towards Peveril Point, Swanage |
We had time for a quick trip to the arcade (again, another essential Swanage must do if you're my kids!) and then as the weather was so lovely we sat on the beach for a bit and enjoyed the Autumn sunshine. It was so warm that the kids decided to have a little swim!
Soon it was time to head back to the Pier and catch our boat back to Poole Quay. We had a lovely day out and it felt like the perfect way to round off our Summer.
Thank you City Experiences for inviting us - for more information regarding all their trips from Poole and further afield, check out their website here.
*Disclaimer - City Experiences kindly gifted us a family ticket in exchange for an honest review
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