The pleasures of Purbeck

Poole Harbour has to be one of the greatest assets the south coast has. Think about it. This is the second largest natural harbour in the world – being narrowly beaten to the title by Sydney Harbour. As such, it has over 100 miles of coastline with five main islands, but probably more than double that at low tide. Its great size means that it is entirely realistic to plan a week’s leisurely cruise without ever leaving its confines. If you do, the Purbeck coast has a selection of beautiful harbours to help you out.

The other thing is that the tide – so often the blight of any cruise – can become a real asset, particularly if you have a shallow draught yacht. The beauty of these shallow creeks is that they have kept commercial traffic at bay in many of the hidden corners of the harbour. This means that, even in this comparatively busy part of the south of England, you can still find beauty, peace and tranquillity.

I lived aboard one of my previous yachts, , for two summer seasons in Poole Harbour, and then kept my current boat there for another season. In this time, I explored the area fairly thoroughly and fell in love with