Cafe Explore in Poole

Disclaimer. I have never been to this museum. I've been to Poole many times in the past but not for a few decades. So why am I posting a review? See the attached image which appeared on Reddit today and I'm doing my best to distribute the awesome wholesomeness this museum promotes. When I do go to Poole next, this museum will be my first port of call.

Nice to wander round and sit outside on the rooftop cafe balcony. Why are you closed for 2 years, its tooooo long! Surely the existing front & cafe could have stayed open as the renovations appear to be at the rear and to the side.

Love this place - great place to spend an hour or so, and free!

It is quaint. I enjoyed it and found it very interesting! You can get some good information on the area.

Very informative place to visit, it gives a get overview of the history of this fine town. However it has a budget for refurbishment from English heritage and will be closed for 18 months.

Very interesting museum and nice cafe at the top.

Surprisingly big. And very interesting. A visit is worth it

A lovely local museum. It runs exhibitions of art. It is closing at the end of 2022 for major rework. Returns in 2 years time.

Great place, full of interesting facts about Poole. The staff are great and so is the cafe. A must visit place! It is undergoing some changes and will be even better.

Great place. My 7 year old son loved the Easter egg trail

A fabulous little museum packed with information. My nieces loved their Easter hunt through the museum as well!

Small but very interesting if you want to know more about Pooke and its History

Lovely little museum with a great variety of displays. Everything from Stone age to later days over three floors...and a café. I never realized how important Poole has been through history. All this and it's FREE. Well worth an hour or two

Very good museum, 4 floors of exhibitions and a cafe. Very clean and tidy and free to enter.

A brilliant find and its where the tourist information is found. Wonderful artefacts, very friendly staff And the Cafe is a must visit. The beans in the coffee are a wonderful taste and the selection of cakes are to die for with generous slices. Highly recommended !

I started work in Poole over 50 years ago and I have seen many changes around the town. I saw what was then the Arndale Centre ( now known as the Dolphin Centre ) being built. The quay is one of the most beautiful places to visit. Poole harbour being one of the largest natural harbours in the world and Brownsea island being within this harbour is now the home of the thriving red Squirrel population and the home of Boy Scout movement in England. The Poole Harbour area has been inhabited for at least 2,500 years. During the Iron Age, Celtic people known as the Durotriges lived in Dorset, particularly around Wareham, five miles ( eight km ) to the west. In the 3rd century BC, these Celtic people moved from hilltop settlements, such as Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings on the chalk downs to the north, to the lower vales and heathland around the River Frome and Poole Harbour. This marshy area may have lent its name to the Durotriges, which means water dwellers. The Durotriges engaged in cross-channel trading at Poole with the Veneti, a seafaring tribe from Brittany. The earliest significant archaeological find in the harbour is the Poole Longboat, a 10 metres ( 33 ft ) boat made from a single oak tree and dating to 295 BC. During that time, the harbour was shallower than it is today and any settlement would now be under water. Poole Quay is a visitor attraction to the south of the town centre lined with a mixture of traditional public houses, new bars, redeveloped warehouses, modern apartment blocks and historic listed buildings. Once the busy centre of Poole's maritime industry, all port activities moved to Hamworthy in the 1970’s as the Quay became increasingly popular with tourists. The Grade II listed Customs House on the quay-front was built in 1814 and now functions as a restaurant and bar. Nearby the Grade I listed Town Cellars, a medieval warehouse built in the 15th century on the foundations of a 14th century stone building, houses a local history centre. Scaplen's Court, another Grade I listed building, also dates from the medieval era. Poole Pottery has been redeveloped into an apartment block. Boats regularly depart from the quay during the summer and provide cruises around the harbour and to Brownsea Island, the River Frome and Swanage. Public artworks along the Quay include Sea Music – a large metal sculpture designed by Sir Anthony Caro, and a life-size bronze sculpture of Robert Baden-Powell created to celebrate the founding of the Scout Movement on Brownsea Island. At the western end of the quay near the mouth of Holes Bay is Poole Bridge. Built in 1927, it is the third bridge to be located on the site since 1834. Poole's Guildhall has played a varied part in the history of the town. A Grade II listed building, the Guildhall was built in 1761 at a cost of £2,250. The new building included an open market house on the ground floor and a courtroom and offices for the town council on the first floor and has also been used as a Court of Record, Magistrates' Court, Court of Admiralty and a venue for Quarter Sessions. Between 1819 and 1821 the building was consecrated as a Parish Church while the old St. James Church was pulled down and replaced with the present church. During the Second World War the building was used as a canteen and meeting room for American soldiers prior to the invasion of France. The showers and washing facilities installed at this time were later converted into public baths which were used until the 1960’s. The building was converted for use as the town museum between 1971 and 1991 but stood empty for the next 16 years. After a renovation project funded by Poole Borough Council, the restored Guildhall opened in June 2007 as a Register Office for weddings, civil partnerships and other civic ceremonies. Near to this is the Poole local history museum a modern looking building for so near older buildings but is hidden away in a corner of High Street. Inside it is Olde World appearance.

Lovely cafe at the top of the museum and very clean and polite staff

A lovely place to find out about local history. Very interesting. A great section on birds. The kids had a great time! Amazing helpful staff too.

A real gem, well set out exhibitions and a real pleasure to wander around. Loads of historical information and very good interactive stuff for the children.

We're so lucky to have such a great little museum on our doorstep full of really interesting locally relevant stuff and completely free to boot! Had a great time there with my 3 year old today, will definitely be making this a regular thing

Good place to go for some local history. A few to many gaps to keep all interested.

Well curated museum of local history with very helpful staff.

Very helpful lady there today couldn't have helped me more

Very interesting loved the cafe xx

Really interesting well presented with most reading material at eye level. Bright and airy with a lovely cafe on the top floor which has an outside seating area. Free entry, please leave a donation.

Lovely Museum, and having been there before, it is free entry, with over three floors to look over all the different items on display, there are stairs, and a lift, and shop

Very informative and pleasent staff it's always a joy to look at local history and its impact on the nation.

Not a lot there but what was we found interesting. And it was free.

Interesting and informative with excellent, helpful staff.

A really interesting small museum ...a pity the cafe was open as,I was,ready to sit down with a coffee after looking around.

Very nice place to visit to see the past

Free entry. Museum has a cafe (closed on my visit) and toilets on third floor - stairs or lift. Excellent layout but beware of low ceiling beams (padded) and light fittings for tall visitors, I'm 6ft 3in tall. There were two sections by local bird preservation society for Poole Harbour - really good informative displays. Volunteer member present to talk with. Creative arts table with supervision for very young children. Plenty of local history on tile manufacturing and Poole pottery (now located in Stoke-on-Trent). Historical modern appliances in the kitchen, fishing industry, 2 world wars and Poole's involvement. Stunning platoon photo of 14 young army men ready for action on Western front WW1. Most probably not much more than 18 yrs old.... Also some natural history, ceramics from Europe and impressive paintings by Nash. I spent an hour and a half there, bought a cycling/walking map guide to New Forest and left a cash donation. Dynamic and amazing place for adults and youngsters.

Very interesting history of Poole. I was particularly fascinated by the film of a potter working the clay so easily. I also enjoyed the magistrates sentence book showing the crime of selling jam too expensively🤭

Very much enjoyed my visit to the museum. Plenty of family friendly exhibits about the local boating history and wildlife. Clean, spacious and worthwhile visiting. To finish, of course, some humour. I met my wife while we working at the same museum I met my wife while we were working at the same museum. Our first date was in the geology section, the second in paleontology, and the rest was history.

Worth visiting, Lovely helpful and informative staffs. A visit wont be complete without a cuppa ☕🍵 at the cafè located in 3rd floor, overlooking street view from the bacony.

Good view from top, food good, not too pricey, but limited range, but that's ok, I think there's lifts for the disabled

Lots of local history. Be sue to go right to the back as there are several floors. FREE

Very well set out staff ver good lot of history well worth a vizit

Really interesting things to do with the local area. Can get a bite to eat and a brew on the cafe outside area and watch the world go by. Best of all entrance to the museum is free.

Lovely museum and was free entry. Some lovely exhibits and a good experience

For a free event, the museum offers lots of historical facts with vintage objects discovered in Poole Bay. Definitely worth a tour.

Brilliant afternoon; though be warned of very low ceilings if you're tall! I'm 5'6" and was OK but my 6'1" boyfriend had to duck most of the time! Thankfully the beams are cushioned so it shouldn't hurt if you do bump into them.

Lovely little museum and has a great value cafe with lovely views.. and some great exhibits..

Historic museums, lovely, we spent 3 hours to saw all details really interesting for us! we love Poole ❤️

A welcoming place to visit. Packed with interesting, informative and well designed exhibits.

Well worth a visit. Really enjoyed the cafe and as for the views wow!

An excellent local museum. The staff/volunteers are friendly and helpful to a fault. The museum itself is clean and packed full of local artifacts from the Poole area. Free to enter but a donation is suggested.

Great place to get a nice coffee with a bit of a sea view. Staff nice. Disabled friendly has lift to cafe and clean toilets. Will need to wear a mask while walking around.

This is my local museum, free admission. So much to look at, staff lovely. Crafts available for the children. Worth a visit.

Mi bien conservado y está muy bien organizado

A fantastic museum full of history and artifacts well worth a visit

Love this place the history bits were amazing

Amazing History. The staff were very pleasant.

Interesting exhibits about life and history in Poole and it's free (donations appreciated though) Kids enjoyed it as well. Cafe and toilets too.... Bonus!

Really enjoyed our visit. It was very interesting.

Great experience and exhibition.

very interesting nd very covid friendly. worth a visit.

Interesting museum, always great that it is free.

Very nice experience, well managed, such helpful staff and all free

Good interesting Museum to visit

Very good museum, pity the cafe was closed on the day we went.

Lovely hidden garden and lovely little museum next to the main Poole museum.

Really interesting museum. So much to see and do

Great museum, lots of interesting materials. Low ceilings!

Really good place to visit. Too be honest we only went there to get out of the rain but overall was a really nice have some lovely memories

Free (donation) and with toilets. A good informative museum in an uninspiring town

Excellent, well labeled display, most items in cabinets out of reach of children where necessary. Plenty to see and prompt memories.

A nice 1h outside and seeing something interesting

3 floors showing the history of Poole, a really nice museum, and should not be missed.

Very interesting lots of history of Poole.

Great Museum, very interesting for all ages .

A good way to spend a couple of hours. Very interesting artifacts. I found the log boats fascinating. Well set out and easy access for disabled people with a lift.

Lovely staff, wonderful & informative exhibits.

A real gem in Poole! An excellent museum suitable for everyone and FREE! A place you must see

Interesting museum with a very nice rooftop cafe.

A mixture of maritime history and of course Poole pottery.

Little museum with lots of interesting history

Called in to use the local history room but was closed. Will ttry again soon as it is had a good selection of archive bookd

Compilations of Poole’s history, small yet cute museum in the heart of Old Poole Town! Worth the visit to learn more about this beloved fishing village!

Well presented,special section for degree level animation,free entry,good track and trace

Interesting g. I particularly enjoyed the animation section.

Cute historical museum, Tells the story of Poole and its Industry,. Well depicted in the layout, over 3 floors, The Cafe on the 3rd floor has excellent caramel cake

Excellent value, free entrance but looks for donations, cash, Google or Apple pay or credit card, we donated £10 as it was more than worth it and helps the museum to continue its great work.. friendly staff from reception to cafe. Modern building and well laid out and interesting exhibits, recommend a visit!

Good local museum. Items and information over 3 floors. Free entry. Has a one way system in place and somebody checking your details at the entrance. The tourist information office is located inside. I think there is a cafe but it is not open due to C19. Has a shop in the entrance area.

Interesting history of poole informative staff and very friendly atmosphere

Great exhibition regarding animation and the normal exhibitions are fascinating.

Some new displays, staff very pleasant.

Quite informative, would have liked to have seen more interactive stuff but alas Covid says no

Quirky small museum. A little gem in poole old town. Right by the Quay as well. We'll worth a visit.

An excellent museum with a great marine heritage section.

Great museum, free admission and very informative, kids and us enjoyed the visit. Thank you.

Great place to experience Poole's history

Really good informative exhibition

Excellent experience friendly staff plenty to see.

Great place to learn a bit more about Poole before mass tourism!

Brilliant museum, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Unexpected little gem of a place right on Poole Quay. Interesting exhibits with history from the local area. Cafe on 3rd floor with both inside and outside seating. Free to enter but donations welcome.

Great place staff were very helpful and friendly and it's free 😀

Lovely museum lots of interesting history and a lovely café well worth a visit if you're in town

Really informative, lovely staff, free to enter just donations. Great cafe on the top floor with lovely views. Dressing up and drawing for children.