While Brownsea Island in Dorset is part of Studland Parish, it’s rarely regarded as part of Purbeck, so to strengthen community links, local residents were invited to an open day on the island.
Beset by travel restrictions due to the Covid pandemic and more recently by bird flu, Brownsea Island in the middle of Poole Harbour is keen to welcome new and returning visitors from across Purbeck and Poole.

Passengers arrive on the island for the community open day
Perfect sunshine and blue skies
Following the popularity of a community open day in spring 2023, the National Trust which owns the island, held another more ambitious open day on Saturday 5th October 2024 and now hopes to make it an annual event.
Blessed by perfect sunshine and blue skies, the autumn open day showed the island in its best light, with the famous red squirrels performing for the visitors as they scampered around looking for nuts.
The free open day tickets, which included both the cost of the ferry and the entrance price to the island, were quickly snapped up when they were released via the National Trust website.
Any resident in the local area could apply and those who’d not been to the island for a long time, if ever, were particularly encouraged to come along.

Exploring the woodland walks

Part of the island is leased to the Dorset Wildlife Trust
“Engage the local community”
Lynne Burningham from the National Trust said:
“In May 2023, we held an open day for the local community to mark Brownsea’s 60th anniversary of opening to the public. It went so well that we wanted to repeat it.
“We thought it would work well to move it to the end of the year, as autumn is the best time to spot the rare red squirrels.
“The idea is to engage the local community – we know that many local residents regularly see the island from Studland or Poole – but they don’t always visit.
“We realise that a day out on the island can be out of the price bracket for some ordinary families, so we wanted to give everyone a chance to explore Brownsea.
“It’s been lovely to see large family groups enjoying the walks around the island. When it’s free, it’s easier to get those who wouldn’t normally go to a National Trust property to come along, as it’s harder to say no.
“Hopefully people will fall in love with the island and want to come back again.”

Lynne Burningham from the National Trust joins in the activities making a red squirrel mask

Brownsea Castle dates back to the reign of King Henry VIII
Iron Age evidence
Brownsea Island is the largest island in Poole Harbour and human activity dates back to at least the Iron Age. In 1964 two sections of a 33 foot Iron Age log boat were discovered just off Brownsea.
In the 16th Century, King Henry VIII built a tower on the island to defend Poole Harbour from French attack. This was later converted to a domestic residence and now forms part of Brownsea Castle that can be seen today.
In the 19th Century, William Petrie Waugh and his wife, Mary, set up a pottery on the island. He built a village for the pottery workers, which was named Maryland after his wife. He also built the Church of St Mary which continues today as a place of worship.
However the venture was doomed and due to the wrong type of clay, after just five years the couple declared bankruptcy and fled to Spain.

The romance of discovering a secret garden

An old brick seat overlooks the remains of the vinery and a kitchen garden
Edwardian heyday
By the early 20th Century the island was a country retreat for a wealthy couple Charles and Florence Van Raalte. Regarded as the island’s heyday, a nine hole golf course was constructed, lavish summer parties were held at the castle and 71 servants and workers were employed to run the estate.
In 1927 Mary Bonham Christie bought Brownsea at auction for £125,000. She had very different ideas and allowed the island to revert back to nature.
When she died at the age of 96 in 1961 the island was sold and eventually acquired in 1962 by the National Trust with Dorset Wildlife Trust leasing part of the island. The retail chain John Lewis took on the lease of the castle as a hotel for its employees.

An oasis for nature

Breathtaking views over Poole Harbour
“Like heaven on earth”
Now, the island is an interesting place to explore with the remains of buildings from a past life still visible.
There’s also trees and plants that were once part of more formal planting but are now part of the woodland, competing for sunlight along with native species.
Lynne added:
“On a day like this, Brownsea is like heaven on earth – it’s amazing with so many different habitats. There’s thousands of wading birds to watch from the shoreline and if you head inland you’ll find the red squirrels.
“There’s only Brownsea and the Isle of Wight where red squirrels can still be spotted in the South of England, so they are very special.
“We’ve seen so much enthusiasm for the open day from local people, so the hope now is to build on the success and make it an annual community event.”

Red squirrels are a star attraction

Top tip is to look for red squirrels around St Mary’s Church
Half term events
The island is open to the public until Sunday 3rd November 2024 and then it closes for winter, although there are some special events planned in the run up to Christmas.
For the school half term from Saturday 26th October to Sunday 3rd November 2024, there’s free daily guided red squirrel walks.
There’s also bushcraft workshops which run twice a day for two hours on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd November 2024. The cost is £10 per child.

Those who have mobility issues can use the bus to explore

Bird spotters’ paradise
Further information
- More details of half term events and the winter day trips are on the National Trust’s Brownsea Island website