Brownsea Island is located in the South of England and is famous for being the place where the scout movement began and also for it's red squirrels.

Brownsea Island can only be reached by water, or maybe by helicopter if one has such a thing ;-) I have always ventured to Brownsea via one of the pleasure boats which can take passengers there from Poole Harbour.

I should mention that this costs around £7 per adult and then there is a National Trust fee to get onton the island. I like to use a National Trust card at this point so am not sure what the fee is.

The Brownsea Island Scout camp was a boys camping event on Brownsea Island, organised by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. This was the begining of the very popular scout movement, which led to guides, brownies etc.

The island is surrounded by a lagoon which is home to many different types of wildlife including the Avocet, Black- and Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Redshank and Greenshank.

In my experience, the red squirrels are the easiest to spot in the spring and autumn months, in around the extensive wooded parts of the island. However, they are shy of people and therefore can be easily scared off by us noisy humans!

Last time I visited Brownsea Island, two red squirrels were scarpering about in the nearby trees and we were lucky enough to be entertained by them for the best part of 20 minutes. They are very comical little creatures when they think that no one is looking!

I understand that there are at present approximately 200-250 red squirrels on Brownsea, but numbers fluctuate from year to year.

Other wildlife on the island include jays, woodcocks, peacocks and pheasants. I was once picnicing with my dad on the pebbly beach when a peacock came out of nowhere, very close to us. The colours were beautiful and it made our day.

Each time I have visited Brownsea we have had a lovely walk around the island and been entertained by the wildlife around. It's so peaceful on Brownsea if you go on a day that's not too warm and sunny, the best time to go in my opinion.

All in all, Brownsea is a great place to go for nature lovers.