A weekend by the seaside, sign me right up. Even if it is in the middle of September.
Travel & Check- In
We drove up on Friday evening after work to the beautiful Canford Hotel which is situated in the Canford Cliffs. It’s about two and a half hours out of London in the car. We checked in with the delightful front of house team before settling into the spacious four poster bed with a glass of bubbles and a cheeseboard (bought by us as we were arriving late) I could already feel the weeks stresses leaving my shoulders.
We got up leisurely the next day and wandered down for breakfast in the conservatory. Great vegetarian breakfast as well as other veggie options and a great continental breakfast if you wanted something a little healthier.
Garden Wanderings and Beach Meanders
We decided not to use the car on our first full day there (this was in the midst of the petrol panic buying) and this was surprisingly easy. We strolled about 20 minutes down the road to Compton Acres. A beautiful if slightly wacky Arts & Crafts inspired garden. Weave your way through the different themed gardens which somehow cohesively work together. It does have a wheelchair route but I would wear sensible shoes as it there are lots of steps and hills to manoeuvre if you are on the main paths.
After stopping and picking up some souvenirs and gifts from the extensive gift shop we walked back on ourselves to Sandbanks beach which is a beautiful sandy beach which is famous for having the oldest British beach huts. As you come down onto the beach there is a small cafe which sells an amazing array of ice creams so definitely pick one up! I would also recommend downloading The Beryl App where you can hire bikes and electric scooters (similar to Lime Bikes) cycling down the promenade was great fun and if you fancied it you could cycle all the way down to Poole pier which has a fairground etc. we instead opted for the crazy golf at Sandbanks and it was the perfect way to finish off the afternoon.
We dined at The Canford that night but I was too busy eating to snap any good photos so you’ll just have to go and try it yourself!
Lunch with a view
We checked out and jumped in the car heading to explore Poole a little more and ended up in the middle of a food festival on the waterside, however we had already made lunch reservation at Rick Steins Sandbanks so could only look at what was on offer as we passed the time looking at all the historical buildings the town has. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was the perfect end of summer feeling.
We hopped back in the car and drove back towards Sandbanks to treat ourselves to lunch with a view. They can’t guarantee you a water side view but we were lucky enough to have one and sipped on champagne cocktails before digging in to some of the most delicious fish I’ve ever had. It is well worth the money if you are a seafood fan and fantastic for people watching.
Full we set off back to London ready for the working week ahead of us.
If you are into water sports then definitely head down to Poole as there are loads of places you can hire boogie boards, wind surfing equipment, paddle boards etc. If you are into crossfit there is a great beach gym or why not try the waterside sauna which made us wish we had our swimming stuff with us as we cycled passed. There is also a ton of historical places to hit up if you want to drive places during your stay.
What Kate Did Next 
Lovely! Especially the pics. Thank you 😊