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Brownsea Island

Dorset


On this small, wooded island in the middle of Poole Harbour, trails weave through heath and woods, past peacocks, red squirrels, red deer and a wealth of bird life – the water-framed views on to the Isle of Purbeck are stunning. Free guided walks focus on the wartime island, bird life, smugglers and pirates. Boats, run by Brownsea Island Ferries, leave from Poole Quay (adult/child return £11.50/6.75) and Sandbanks (adult/child return £7/5) at least hourly.

Brownsea also played a key role in a global movement famous for three-fingered salutes, shorts and toggles – Lord Baden-Powell staged the first ever scout camp here in 1907.


Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

Nearby Dorset attractions

2. Custom House

1.36 MILES

The impressive red-brick Custom House dates from 1813 – look out for the Union Jack and gilded coat of arms.

3. King Charles

1.36 MILES

One of Poole's oldest pubs, the building dates from around 1150.

4. Poole Museum

1.36 MILES

The building alone is worth seeing – a beautifully restored 15th-century warehouse. The star exhibit is a 2300-year-old Iron Age logboat dredged up from…

5. Sandbanks

1.67 MILES

A 2-mile, wafer-thin peninsula of land that curls around the expanse of Poole Harbour, Sandbanks is studded with some of the most expensive houses in the…

6. Alum Chine

3.56 MILES

Bournemouth's 1920s heyday is beautifully evoked at a subtropical enclave containing plants from the Canary Islands, New Zealand, Mexico and the Himalayas…

7. West Cliff Lift Railway

4.23 MILES

Built in 1908 to link Bournemouth's steep but relatively low cliffs to the beach, the West Cliff Lift Railway regularly trundles up and down a short…

8. Bournemouth Beach

4.53 MILES

Bournemouth's sandy shoreline regularly clocks up seaside awards. It stretches from Southbourne in the far east to Alum Chine in the west – an immense…