Pergins Island

Pergins Island is located in the north of Holes Bay, north of the railway embankment of the South West Main Line which crosses the bay from east to west.

It is roughly oval in shape, has an area of 6.2061 hectares, and is densely covered with broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland.

According to local hearsay, Doughty, a devout Catholic, had given permission for the poor people of Poole and Hamworthy to use the island for camping to escape the squalor of their homes.

The Old Town in Poole used to contain slums which became very unhealthy during the warmer summer months and so mothers would take their children to camp on the island while the fathers continued to work, visiting their families when they could.

[2] The island, like the rest of the Upton Estate, belongs to the Poole Borough Council.