Jane's Midlife Journey

Situated in the centre of Poole, Dolphin Shopping Centre is Poole’s premier shopping destination with over 80 stores, a range of dining options, plenty of entertainment, plus a host of other facilities.

The Dolphin Centre first opened in 1969. When I first started coming to Poole many years ago, I used to think the Dolphin Centre was a bit of a dive. At that time, major retailers, such as M&S, relocated out-of-town. However, the centre’s owners have worked hard to reinvent and rejuvenate the area and it is once again buzzing with activity.

How to get to the Dolphin Centre

The Dolphin Centre is in central Poole, 6 miles west of Bournemouth along the A35.

By Bus

The centre is easy to reach by bus because Poole Bus Station adjoins the centre. In addition, Poole Station is just across the road.

Parking

The centre has ample parking with two multi storey car parks totalling almost 1500 parking spaces. Parking costs £2.30 for two hours. Further details can be found here.

Opening Times

The Centre is open daily from 8 am until 6.30 pm (9.30 am until 5.30 pm on Sundays), although individual retailers may operate different hours.

Dolphin Centre

From shopping to eating, for work and leisure and a whole range other things besides, this is what the Dolphin Centre has to offer:

Shops

• 3 Store (phones)
• Beales (department store) – closing down
• Boots (chemist)
• Card Factory (cards)
• Claires (accessories)
• Clarks (shoes)
• Clintons (cards)
• Deichman (shoes)
• Ernest Jones (jewellery)
• Great Reads (books)
• Guardian Chinese Herbs (herbal remedies)
• H Samuel (jewellery)
• H&M (clothing)
• HMV (music & entertainment)
• Holland & Barrett (dietary supplements)
• Hollywood Fancy Dress
• JR Fashions
• JD Sports
• Morrisons Daily (food and convenience store)
• New Look (fashion)
• Next (fashion)
• O2 (phones)
• Pandora (jewellery)
• Poise (Lingerie)
• Poundland
• Primark (fashion)
• River Island (fashion)
• Saltrock (beach gear)
• Skechers (shoes)
• Smiggle (stationery & accessories)
• Sports Direct
• The Body Shop (toiletries)
• The Canvas Printing Company (print your photos onto canvas)
• The Fragrance Shop
• The Perfume Shop
• Tidal Vape
• Toy Town
• Valentina (shoes)
• Vodafone (phones)
• Warhammer (game miniatures)
• Warren James (jewellery)
• Waves (click & collect surf & skateboard clothing)
• WH Smith (stationery)
• Wilko (homeware, plus Iceland frozen food) – yay, it’s back!

Food & Drink

There are food & drink options throughout the centre, including the recently open Street Food Court on the first floor.

• Bubble Citea (bubble tea)
• Clipper Restaurant (breakfast, lunch and carvery)
• Cornish Bakehouse (pasties)
• Delfino Lounge
• Eva’s Café (sandwiches)
• Kaspas (desserts)
• KFC
• Kokoro (Japanese/Korean)
• Muffin Break (muffins)
• Shakeaway (milkshake)
• Starbucks
• Subway
• Wenzel’s (bakery)

Street Food

• Chuck & Blade (burgers)
• Loco Lime (Mexican)
• Noodlebar (Pan Asian)
• Wraps ‘n Roll (tortillas)
• Zeen Cuisine (Caribbean)

We recently visited Chuck & Blade where the burgers are excellent.

Entertainment

• Flip Out (indoor adventure park) – Temporarily closed
• High Score Arcades (gaming arcade)
• Putt Putt Social (Asian themed crazy golf)
• The Project Climbing Centre (Indoor climbing facility)

Services

• Fone World (phone repairs)
• Gallery Nails (nail salon)
• Hays Travel (travel agent)
• I-Crack (screen repairs)
• Ramsden (pawnbroker)
• Sew Quick (repairs & alterations)
• Specsavers (optician)
• Timey’s (watch and jewellery repairs)
• Timpsons (shoe repairs, key cutting, engraving)
• Tina’s Hair Salon
• Toni & Guy (hairdresser)
• TUI (travel agent)
• Vision Express (optician)

Other Facilities

• Access Wellbeing (mental health drop-in centre)
• Dorset Health Village (NHS outpatient diagnostics)
• Foundry (co-working space)
• Gather (hireable event space)
• Poole Library
• Skills & Learning Centre (adult education)

Street Market

In addition to the permanent stores, there is also a weekly Street Market where local makers and vendors can hire a pop-up pitch to sell their wares, such as puzzles, candles and fragrances. The street market takes place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 am until 5 pm.

Kingland

Kingland Crescent is the area directly behind the Dolphin Centre. It used to be rather run down and a bit of a no-go zone. But recently, its owners have endeavoured to transform the area into a trendy area filled with a selection of independent retailers.

Shops

• Brakeburn (clothing)
• Lavender Moon (clothing and jewellery)
• Restored Retro (restored furniture)
• Titanium Flower (hand made jewellery and craft space)
• Trespass (outdoor clothing)
• Wild Roots (florist)

Food & Drink

• Grounded Coffee (coffee shop)

Dolphin Centre/Kingland for Children

There is plenty to keeps kids entertained at the Dolphin Centre including:

Poole Library

Poole Library has a children’s section and holds weekly activities for children including Wriggle and Rhyme, Games Club, Lego Club and Toddler Time. The library is open daily except Sunday. All sessions are free to join.

Flip Out

Flip out describes itself as an Indoor Adventure Park. The activities on offer are listed below. There is also a diner and party rooms.

• Drift Trikes
• Interactive Football
• Laser Tag
• Bumper Cars
• Battle Cannon
• Roller Skating
• Toddler Soft Play
• Arcade Games

Note: Flip out closed down in June 2025 for roof repairs, which it anticipated taking around 6 months to complete.

High Score Arcades

High Score Arcades is a free play gaming arcade. The arcade contains a range of arcade games, form old school classic, such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man, to the latest games. It is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday during term time and daily during the school holidays. There is a range of prices and packages. For example entry costs £11.95 per person for one hour or £38.24 for a family of four.

Putt Putt Social

Putt Putt Social has three Asian themed crazy golf curses: Cherry Blossom, Crouching Tiger and Dragon Quest. It is open daily. There is a range of prices and packages. For example, one game during peak time costs £8.50 for an adult, £6.50 for a child or £27 for a family of four. Note: This venue no longer serves food and drink.

The Project Climbing Centre

The Project Climbing Centre offers supervised climbing sessions for children aged 4 plus, coached climbing sessions for aged 7 plus and unsupervised climbing for aged 14 plus. Facilities include a kids’ room with fun shaped holds and a big slide.

The centre is open daily. There is a range of prices and packages. For example, an adult day pass costs £12.50 and junior sessions start at £7. Full details can be found here.

• Updated: May 2025

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.