Poole faces the right way, which is the whole reason its evenings look like that.
Why the light works here
The harbour opens broadly west. In the evening the sun goes down the length of it, so from the eastern shore you are looking into the light across two or three miles of water with masts and islands in between.
Where to stand
Baiter and the harbourside park, closest to town and the easiest to reach.
Hamworthy, looking back at the town with the light behind it.
Upton Country Park, for shoreline and mudflats with birds in the frame through winter.
The chines at Canford Cliffs, for a sea horizon rather than a harbour one.
When
The hour before sunset. Autumn and winter give the cleanest air, the longest shadows and the lowest sun. September evenings on this harbour are hard to beat.
Also worth photographing
The lifting bridge opening on the Quay, the Georgian doorways in the Old Town, and Old Harry Rocks from the Studland coast path.
See the photo trail.