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Corfe Shop

Poole Shop
Opening hours
Where we are
How to get here
Car
Bus
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Bike
Walk
Boat
When you arrive

Eileen Soper's Illustrated Worlds

Events

Famous Five Adventure Trail 2012

Contact Us

Useful Links

click here to download
the Ginger Pop leaflet

Welcome to the Ginger Pop shop at Poole Quay

We stay open late when there is a special event on Poole Quay	Inside the Poole shop...

Our shop is all about Enid Blyton and her era.

150 Enid Blyton books currently in print
In the second hand section you can get Enid Blyton books that are currently out of print. Old books tend to have better pictures, and you will also get the story Enid Blyton wrote, rather than the one someone else thinks that she should have written!
Our own range of Eileen Soper souvenirs.
Ingenious toys without batteries. We have a good range of clockwork toys for children and adult collectors. Also games and magic.
Memorabilia, jigsaws and books about the era, and a great selection of CDs
A great range of WW2 materials suitable for projects
A fantastic selection of gorgeous Golliwoggs! We have a great range of golliwog dolls. Also golly greetings cards, golly mugs, golly magnets, golly figures, golly keyrings and golly badges.
Our ices are most delicious, and made just 10 miles away in Purbeck.
Lashings of Ginger Beer – of course!

The Ginger Pop Shop at Poole opened in 2009. It is dedicated to Enid Blyton and her era, and is spacious and stylish. It is in an old pub formerly called The Swan, which is why we have a lovely picture by Eileen Soper of a swan above the shop door. However, to many of the locals it will always be known as The Dirty Duck! The entrance to our fantastic Attraction Eileen Soper’s Illustrated Worlds is through the windmill inside the shop. It is even better than an Enid Blyton museum because you are allowed to touch!

From outside our shop you can see Brownsea Island, which featured as Whispering Island in Five have a Mystery to Solve. Inside the shop we have a display of Enid Blyton books illustrated by Eileen Soper for you to admire in the display cabinet.
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Our lighting is energy efficient, so we can appear closed because the entrance is dark!  In cold or windy weather we also keep the big glass doors shut – so please use the other door. Of course we will open the big doors for wheelchairs and buggies!

Opening Hours
We are open throughout the year, from 10.00 daily, but closing time varies throughout the year. Please phone 01202 670504 to check
We will close late if there is a scheduled event on Poole Quay such as fireworks or motorbikes.
We will be open until at least 8pm during the school summer holidays
In winter, we close at 4.30.
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Where we are







We are located on a road called Old Orchard, near Poole Quay and
beside Poole Pottery. Our post code is BH15 1SD










How to get here…

By car
We are opposite the “Quay Visitors’” Car Park (pay-and-display), which is well signposted under this exact name on pale brown tourism road-signs in Poole. It has parking for people with disabilities (some immediately on the left as you drive in on Level B, some on Level C) and “Parent and Child” spaces on Level C. 

There is a nicer car park though, 750m (half-a-mile) away, at Baiter/Harbourside, which is opposite Brownsea Island, and from where you can get a glimpse of Corfe Castle.

By Bus (Wheelchair friendly)
The Route One bus picks up from the bus or railway stations and stops on the Quay by the Lord Nelson pub, about 75 yards from us. It does not run on Sundays. 
Here is the map and timetable
http://www.wdbus.co.uk/site/uploads/publications/81.pdf
No.9 bus runs from the Bus Station to Old Orchard. See the Wilts & Dorset Bus Company website (www.wdbus.co.uk ) for details. 
Here is the timetable
http://www.wdbus.co.uk/site/uploads/publications/296.pdf


By coach
Long-distance Service coaches stop at Poole Bus Station which is about 1 kilometre (two-thirds of a mile) level walk away.

Coaches on excursions have a drop-off point right outside our door.
http://findacoachholiday.com


By rail 
Poole Railway Station (Waterloo-Weymouth line, see www.southwesttrains.co.uk) has good accessibility. This is about 1 kilometre (two-thirds of a mile) level walk away, or one can take the Route One bus. 

Taxis (including accessible ones). 

C J Taxis 07711 868054
D G Taxis 07957 881110
Hillside Cars (01202) 686845
Poole Radio Cabs (01202) 666333
Dial-a-Cab (01202) 666822
Fares for these larger vehicles are exactly the same as the ordinary saloon car taxis used elsewhere in the town.

By bicycle from the town centre
For cyclists, there is a signposted “Heritage Cycle Route” from the railway station round to Old Orchard, and there are cycle stands at the entrance to Poole Pottery, on the quayside, and at the junction of Old Orchard and the (partly pedestrianised) High Street.

On foot from the town centre
Coming from Poole Railway Station, you need to be on the same side of the track as the actual station building (there is a footbridge that end, and an underpass with ramps at the other end of the platform). Walk under the concrete road bridge, towards the entrance for the shopping centre and pedestrianised High Street, where a big sign says “Falkland Square”. Walk through to the Square. Those coming from the Bus Station should walk through the Dolphin Shopping Centre, following signs for Falkland Square and the High Street, to reach the same point.
In the Square is a signpost showing the way to the High Street. Walk down the High Street, cross the railway level crossing and keep going. Soon another road crosses your path and there are pedestrian crossing lights. Cross there and continue straight down the High Street. Signposts at intervals point you towards the Quay and Tourist Information, which is the way to us as well.
Stop at the pedestrian crossing with a Sainsbury’s on the opposite side, and DON’T cross. Turn left, instead, and the signpost tells you that you are heading for the Quay. You are now walking down Old Orchard. Cross two side roads, pass a block of flats on your left and we are next - in an old building with green tiles on the front.

By boat
Various ferryboat services (foot passengers only) to Bournemouth, Swanage and Brownsea Island run to and from the Quay at the end of Old Orchard, about 70m (76 yards) from our door (details from Poole Tourism).


When you arrive

The main entrance to the Ginger Pop Shop from the street is very wide, with a level surface and automatic sliding doors. Our other entrance is 1 metre (3’3”) wide, with a 5cm (2”) step and negotiable with a pushchair or wheelchair. There is no charge for entry to the shop.
We think that it is common sense that customers should not eat or drink in our shop.
Entry to Eileen Soper’s Illustrated Worlds is through the Windmill at the back of the shop. Both the shop and attraction are on the ground floor, with no steps. Both are well-lit (except for the Secret Passage and Mirror Maze! - which have safety lighting). The shop has aisles suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. There are plenty of chairs in the attraction. Some shelves in the shop may be hard to reach, and of course we will be glad to fetch items down for customers.

Assistance dogs are welcome in the shop and attraction.