Poole Audio Tour: Bridges & Beacons

Explore Poole at your own pace

A centuries-old port still buzzes with untold secrets under Poole's modern skyline. Look past the high street and discover a city shaped by rebellion, faith, and unexpected pioneers.

This self-guided audio tour is your pass to stories hidden in plain sight. Drift through vibrant shopping halls, pause at statues that sparked debate, and trace quiet corners that once shook with conflict.

What scandal rocked the community within Poole Methodist Church's walls? Why does the statue of Robert Baden-Powell divide opinions even now? And what is the strangest item ever sold at Dolphin Shopping Centre?

Photo: Nick Fewings, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 33 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 4.6 km (2.8 miles)
• Stops: 12 landmarks, including Poole Methodist Church, Lighthouse, Dolphin Shopping Centre
• Audio: up to 30 minutes of narration
• Starts at: Poole Methodist Church

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• Poole Methodist Church
• Lighthouse
• Dolphin Shopping Centre
• Statue of Robert Baden-Powell, Poole
• Poole United Reformed Church
• Bull's Head Inn, Poole
• Poole Guildhall
• St James' Church, Poole
• Custom House, Poole
• Poole Bridge
• Poole Power Station
• Twin Sails Bridge

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: Nick Fewings (Unsplash); Unknown author (Wikimedia Commons, public domain); AudaTours.