The perfect day’s adventure, this island wildlife sanctuary is easy to get to but feels like another world from the moment you step ashore.
The island sits in the middle of Poole Harbour, with dramatic views to the Purbeck Hills. Thriving natural habitats, including woodland, heathland and a lagoon, have created havens for wildlife, such as the red squirrel and a huge variety of birds.
The island is rich in history too, which is revealed in our Visitor Centre. There are the remains of daffodil farming, pottery works and the village of Maryland to explore, or head to the Outdoor Centre to find out more about the birthplace of the Scouting and Guiding movement. (Source: Visit Dorset)
The National Trust-owned Brownsea Island is a beautiful island in Dorset with wonderful views of Poole Harbour, great history & amazing wildlife including rare red squirrels and birds, and is also the birthplace of Scouting and Guiding.
All photos were taken by me and our two sons with a micro four thirds OMD camera (older version of https://amzn.to/2Kpl3dR) attached with the standard kit lens (https://amzn.to/33kH3Ox) and a micro four thirds PEN camera (older version of https://amzn.to/2KMfJkI) attached with a standard pancake lens (https://amzn.to/2ZgnSWH).
We left early to catch the first ferry to the island from Sandbanks jetty. We parked in Sandbanks, which is quite a walk from the jetty. It was a lovely sunny day when we departed for the island and we were greeted with beautiful scenery along the way.
On arrival, we went inside Reception to pay the fees and got our maps then lounge around for awhile to talk about how we go on the day's visit. We quickly realised this visit entailed a lot of walking and we have to do it fast so we can catch the last ferry boat ride back to Sandbanks jetty.
The maps we had gave us three suggested walks to do to enjoy our visit to Brownsea Island. We ended up doing a shortened combination of all three walks as we were short on time. Before we head to our walk we paid homage to the great man himself, Lord Baden Powell the founder of the Scouting and Guiding Movement.
Our journey started with the Viewpoints and Woodland walk where we passed by St Mary the Virgin Church on our way to the Visitor Centre to learn about the island's rich history. On the way we saw lots of scouts and guides of all ages camping and doing lots of outdoor activities.
We made a brief stop at the Visitor Centre and viewed the different exhibits that told of the great long history of the island and its inhabitants. The barn opposite the Visitor Centre is home to some of the island’s agricultural collection which has been restored back to life.
We continued on our walk heading out to the beach to have a quick catch of breath and to enjoy the views. Brownsea Island is famed for its red squirrels and wildbirds; unfortunately, we did not see them during our walk. Nevertheless, we were surrounded by wildlife during our walk. In the picnic shelter, the children were having fun with the friendly peacocks.
After a quick bite at the picnic shelter, we continued on our journey this time going to the Scouting site via the Scouting and Maryland walk trail, checking out more camping sites near the Outdoor Centre and then on to Scout Stone. Unfortunately, I was not able to go to the original site of Baden Powell's 1907 camp which would have been the highlight of my visit to Brownsea Island.
But, being there in the island where the Scouting Movement started was a great pilgrimage enough for me. I was lucky to have the chance to visit the spiritual home of Scouting. It brought back many memories especially the beach campings. It all made sense to me now why we do lots of camping in the beach - the first Scouting camp was held in the beach!
From the Scout Stone we decided to head back to the Reception area using part of the Heathland walk trail as we did not want to miss out on the last ferry. Time flew fast and we were not even able to cover the whole of the island by foot but only a quarter of it. The other half of the island is a wetland sanctuary ran by Dorset Wildlife Trust which we decided not the visit right from the start.
Interestingly, on our way back to Reception we pass by a very old tree that was felled by a storm a couple of years before our visit to the island. It just stood there as a memorial of sort.
We had a great time in Brownsea Island although you will not see it our faces after we arrived back at the Reception area and had a quick rest before the ferry back to Sandbanks jetty. Personally, as a once-dedicated Scout, it was a pilgrimage to the spiritual home of the Scouting Movement. I hope to go back someday.
