Dorset, England

Lake Road slipway, Hamworthy

Parking — On-street parking on Lake Road itself; the nearest dedicated car park is Hamworthy Park (60 spaces, 3 disabled, free 1 November to 14 March), roughly half a mile away.

Season — The shore here falls within a Key Bird Sensitive Area for over-wintering birds, in place from November to March, under Poole Harbour Commissioners' bird sensitive areas policy for the harbour.

Regulations — Poole Harbour Commissioners, the statutory harbour authority, levies no licence or fee on unpowered craft including paddleboards; its Code of Practice for Stand Up Paddleboarding applies harbour-wide, and paddleboarding is not permitted in the harbour entrance or the main shipping channels.

Lake Road slipway sits on the low, western shore of Poole Harbour at Hamworthy, opposite the town centre. The harbour is one of several worldwide that lay claim to being the second-largest natural harbour, covering around 36 square kilometres.

Outside its single dredged channel the harbour averages only 48 centimetres deep, and the water off this shore dries out to mudflat at low water. The tidal range here is unusually small for the south coast, roughly 1.6 metres at springs and 0.5 metres at neaps against about 3.9 metres and 1.9 metres at Portsmouth, and Poole typically shows a double high water at springs rather than a single peak.

The harbour is on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance, designated in July 1999, and its mudflats and saltmarsh support large numbers of over-wintering waders and wildfowl, including dunlin, dark-bellied brent goose and avocet.

Nearby

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The Cafe in the Park

Cafe in Hamworthy Park, on the harbour shore about half a mile from the slipway.

Website

Rockley Park

Haven holiday park with touring caravan and camping pitches alongside its static caravan holiday homes, about a mile from the slipway.

Website

Conditions to check

Tidal flow

The tidal range is small for the south coast, around 1.6 metres at springs and 0.5 metres at neaps, with a double high water at springs.

Source

Shallow or rocky

The harbour is extremely shallow outside its single dredged channel, averaging around 48 centimetres deep.

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Limited exit

Outside the dredged channel the harbour dries to mudflat at low water.

Source

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