Sandbanks facts for kids
Sandbanks is a small peninsula or spit (1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi) crossing the mouth of Poole Harbour on the English Channel coast at Poole in Dorset, England. It is known for its high property prices and for its award-winning beach. In 2005, Sandbanks was reported to have the fourth highest land value by area in the world. The Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs Coastline area has been dubbed "Britain's Palm Beach".
Geography
Sandbanks is connected to Studland by the Sandbanks Ferry, a chain ferry across the mouth of the harbour. The Sandbanks area of Poole Harbour (known as North Haven Lake) is used for water sports and by light marina craft. The north side is home to the Southern Headquarters of the Royal Yachting Association and a sailing school.
Views to the north are across Poole Harbour and to Poole. To the south views extend across the English Channel and to the coastline of Studland and Swanage in the west.
Property
Sandbanks is a predominantly residential area, with homes stretching east from the Harbour to The Avenue, the eastern boundary of Poole. Homes often sell for millions of pounds.
Facilities
The Haven Hotel in Sandbanks, constructed in 1887, was where Guglielmo Marconi performed wireless experiments in the late 1890s while living there. Sandbanks was the third place in the world to have a permanent wireless station (1899).
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed a lifeboat at Sandbanks in 1865. The crew had to travel from Poole in a horse-drawn carriage whenever it was launched so a new Poole Lifeboat Station was opened at Fisherman's Dock on Poole Quay in 1882.
Politics
Sandbanks is part of the Canford Cliffs ward which elects two councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, and also the Poole parliamentary constituency.
Rail access
- Parkstone railway station
Images for kids
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Large houses at Sandbanks, seen from the Poole to Brownsea Island ferry
