Brownsea island is almost a good enough reason to visit Poole. Poole is like the armpit of Dorset, with a few millionaire’s houses nearby to make it seem even worse, but brownsea island is great.
There is a private mansion on the island where the staff of a London department store get to spend quality time, so there’s a bit of elitism there.
It was reasonably sunny when we were there, there were about ten red squirrels running round. The best time to see them apparently is september or autumn in general because they’re more active when it’s cooler.
There are massive attempts made by the guys who work here to clear the rhododendron bushes that choke all the other wildlife and were just in the gardens when it was a private island.
There was a pottery here at the start of teh 20th century and on one side of the island near the sea you can see the remains of the small village and all the bits of bowls and plates they made.
The scout camp has a sort of permanent enclosure with totem poles. Shame they can’t light fires any more, but at least it stops people smoking.
There are wild domestic chickens everywhere as well, which is odd, but i did see a mother hen teaching a whole brood of chicks how to scrabble for insects in the soil.
As you might imagine this trip is mostly popular with the older members of the population, but once you get free of them you’re all right.

Brownsea Island has a very interesting history but is probably most famous as the birthplace of Baden-Powell’s Scout movement. Scouts and Guides from all over the world still visit the island today although, as naked flames are banned on the island, no more camp fires, I’m afraid.

The island is accessible by ferry from several places on the mainland, including Poole Quay and Bournemouth Pier and there is an entry fee of about £5 but it’s worth it. Once there you are free to wander around the woodland areas on your own. We took some kind of squirrel tour and our guide was a mine of information about the island and where best to spot the shy red squirrels. And we saw quite a few of the little darlings, if only fleetingly. We also had sightings of other animals and fowl whose antecedents had been domesticated but set free by one of the island’s eccentric owners in the 1930s, I think.

On the day that we went it was a bit rainy at times but we still had a great time. There is the customary National Trust gift shop where you can stock up on all the squirrel and scout related items that you need while you’re waiting for the ferry back to the mainland and, of course, a tea room.

I would go back just for the squirrels. Aaaah.