Branksome Chine
Open-coast sand on Poole Bay — more wind and chop than the harbour, and heavy summer bathing restrictions.
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● Spot · shaded: the wind directions that work here. It is not a riding area or a permitted kite zone. Two fingers to move the map.
Location & launch
Know before you go.
- Launch
- Wide sandy beach with promenade access from the chine.
- Wind
- ENE · E · ESE · SE · SSE · S · SSW · SW winds work here.
The shaded area shows the wind directions recorded as working here. It is not a permitted kite zone or a safe launch boundary. Check local signs.
Local rules, hazards & spot guide
Need to know
The things that catch people out here.
- Summer bathing zones along Poole Bay are enforced and leave very little legal kiting room between May and September.
- Genuinely open-coast conditions here, unlike the harbour on the other side of the peninsula — more wind, more chop, more swell.
- Best used out of season, or early and late in the day.
Conditions
- Best
- Works
- Offshore
- Works in
- ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW
- Best in
- SSW, SW
- Offshore (careful)
- N, NNE, W, WNW, NW, NNW
- Wind quality
- moderate
- Water
- Choppy
- Depth
- mixed
- Best tide
- Low to mid
- Spring range
- 1.8 m
Sea breeze · May–Aug
- Beginner
- Workable
- Intermediate
- Good
- Advanced
- Good
Hazards
Most serious first. The level is in words as well as colour.
- high
crowds Bournemouth and Poole beaches are among the busiest in the country in summer; bathing zones are enforced.
- medium
groynes Groynes along the Poole Bay frontage.
Access & rules
- Launch
- Wide sandy beach with promenade access from the chine.
- Permit
- Not required
- Insurance
- Third-party liability expected
- Tuition
- Permitted
- Facilities
- toilets, cafe, changing
Parking
- Branksome Chine car park
paid
Seasonal restrictions
- May–Sep
BCP Council enforces swimming zones along Poole Bay; kitesurfing is excluded from them.
Safety
Who is around if it goes wrong. None of it makes the water safe.
- Lifeguards
- Seasonal RNLI cover.
- RNLI
- Poole RNLI
- Nearest A&E
- Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth (~15 min)
- Water quality
- Designated bathing water — excellent
The spot
Branksome Chine sits on the open coast between Poole and Bournemouth, on the seaward side of the peninsula that shelters Poole Harbour. It picks up considerably more wind, chop and swell than the harbour a mile away, which is exactly the point on a light day.
The complication is summer. BCP Council enforces bathing zones along the whole of Poole Bay between roughly May and September, leaving very little legal room for kites. Out of season, or early and late in the day, it comes into its own.
Links & local
Schools & shops nearby
- FC Watersports · kite shop, watersports shop, kite school · ~2 km
Sources
Where this record came from, and how confident we are in it.
- Windfinder — Poole / Branksome
Checked 2026-09-07 · coordinates, wind
- UK Windsurfing beach guide — Branksome Chine
Checked 2026-09-23 · wind
- BCP Council — Branksome Chine
Checked 2026-09-23 · wind
Verify locally. Coordinates 50.7072, -1.9058. Conditions, access arrangements and beach rules change; check them on the day before you rely on anything on this page.