PS as a general note, quite apart from it's minimum impact on wildlife reserve appeal, the south side has in any event far nicer views of Furzey/Goathorn etc as you slurp on the Scotch coffee and gorge on Soreen. Have fun, and say hello to the brown squirrels :-) there's the Lake Pier car park at Hamworthy (probably not ideal from a security point of view!) or a longer paddle down from Wareham that spring to mind.Īnyway, personally I'd give the office a bell, as however they view it no-one takes that kindly to an unannounced curve ball. Famous for red squirrels, wildlife and Scouting, Brownsea Island is. If paddling is okay (no idea what the event is, or if that makes a difference.) then do plan ahead with regard to parking, as it's very limited for extended stays harbourside. How different it would be for a full-on extended stay I don't know, but I had considered such a move for some volunteer rhodedendron-trashing this summer (always a passion of mine!) and even though that was organised through the National Trust (of whom I'm a member) I would still have checked through the Brownsea NT Office on 01202 707744. I've landed on the island loads of times during open season, out of season, during day and after dark (I'm a good boy, and always on the South shore, as mentioned above, and never lit a fire, BBQ, or let rip with a Ghetto Blaster etc.) and never had an issue. Hundreds of scouts and guides from a hundred and sixty countries attended the celebrations.Well if that's the best recommendation you can come up with, Tim. We will look forward to an enthusiastic come back for 2022 and will be in touch in. It is even more disappointing as 2021 should have been our 30th anniversary year. As a charity, we are unable to withstand another huge loss. In August 2007, Brownsea Island was the focus of worldwide scouting celebrations, with four camps set up on the island, including a replica of the original 1907 camp. Sadly, last years cancelled event cost the club around £1500 in expenses for purchases made such as medals, pens etc. The island's five hundred acres of pine and oak woodland, heathland and salt marsh provide habitats for a wide variety of species including indigenous red squirrels. There is a wharf and a small dock near the main castle. Access is by public ferry from Poole or private boat. With the exception of the castle and a nature reserve managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Brownsea Island is now open again to visitors. When she died in 1961 her grandson gave Brownsea to the government to pay her death duties, who in turn gave it to the National Trust. Although nicknamed 'the Demon of Brownsea' many have come to view her as the saviour of Brownsea Island, preventing it going the way of nearby Sandbanks. Scouts continued to camp on Brownsea until the 1930s, when the island was sold to the reclusive Mary Bonham-Christie, who ordered the mass eviction of nearly three hundred permanent inhabitants, closed the island to all visitors and turned it into a nature reserve. Gardens were created, a pottery was established and abandoned, the village of Maryland was built and left in ruins, a new pier with castellated watch towers was constructed, St Mary's church was added, the castle burned down and was rebuilt, and Robert Baden-Powell hosted the first ever scout camp in 1907. The blockhouse eventually came to be known as Brownsea Castle.Īfter the civil war Brownsea passed into private ownership, changing hands over the next four centuries with baffling frequency. Henry VIII noticed the strategic importance of the island and built a blockhouse from which to defend Poole Harbour. William the Conqueror gave Brownsea to his half-brother, after which it passed into the hands of Cerne Abbey, who held onto it for three hundred and fifty years, until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. A few hundred years later King Canute used it as a base from which to sack Wareham and Cerne Abbey. The first known inhabitants of Brownsea Island were ninth century monks who built a small chapel and hermitage dedicated to St Andrew.