Brownsea Island

The gorgeous Brownsea island in Poole, one of South England’s only strong holds of red squirrels. I was lucky enough to see a couple and one of the only two remaining resident peacocks.

The island's sheltered saline lagoon is a magnet for spoonbills, terns, avocets and lots of other interesting wildlife. The Dorset WildlifeTrust takes care of one side of the island and has set up several look out stations.

The island also has a Castle built by Henry VIII between 1545 and 1547, which is privately owned by John Lewis. The island was bought from the family of former owner Mary Bonham-Christie by the National Trust in 1962 after a mammoth fundraising effort involving the local community, John Lewis and the Scouting Association. It is believed to be the birthplace of scouting as Robert Baden Powell, the movements founder, held his very first scout camp on Brownsea and it is still used today by scouts from all over the world.

The island inspired Enid Blyton, who describes Brownsea as "Keep Away Island" in the book Five Have a Mystery to Solve.

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