Sandbanks - Britain's Malibu

I never realised until I was much older just how lucky I was to grow up where I did.

Until I was 18 and went away to university, I lived in a small community called Lilliput that lies at the northern end of Sandbanks, slap bang in the middle of the South Coast Of England.

Sandbanks is a sandy peninsula about a mile long that forms the southern edge of Poole Harbour in Dorset, and is today the 4th most expensive places to live in the world. Gone are many of the art-deco houses from the 1930's that I knew when I was younger, and in their place are multi-million pound homes that belong to rich businessmen and celebrities from the music, movie and sports sectors.

Sandbanks borders Poole Harbour on one side, and on the other side is mile after mile of golden sandy beaches, the narrowest strip being just wide enough for a 2-lane road on the harbour side and then a row of homes that back onto the beach.

Back in the 1960's Sandbanks was best known for John Lennon having bought a house there for his Aunt, and the Haven Hotel that sits next to where the car ferry takes passengers across the entrance to the harbour is where Marconi performed a number of his early experiments with radio.

Brownsea Island, which sits inside the harbour close to the entrance, is the site of the first Boy Scout Camp. With it's small castle, more a decoration that a fortification, it makes for a beautiful scenic view. The famous children's author Enid Blyton, known best for the Noddy, Famous Five and Secret Seven series of books, spent a lot of time in the area, and Brownsea Island is the inspiration behind Kirrin Island in the Famous Five series.

I am currently writing my autobiography, and as part of this I am creating some web pages for the area where I grew up. Dorset is such a beautiful county, with the Poole Harbour being the second largest natural harbour in the world (after Sydney in Australia), Bournemouth and Swanage being two of the best seaside resorts on the South Coast, and nearby you have the historic town of Christchurch as well as The New Forest, which was created by William The Conqueror.

I hope you will take a look at these works that I have in progress and that you enjoy learning about me and where I grew up.

Note: Some are not much more than outlines as of today (21st May 2008), but I hope to fill in the gaps daily as the month progresses.