Wednesday turned out to be a glorious day weather-wise – bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid 60’s but it felt like the 70’s. We decided to have a casual day of sightseeing on Brownsea Island (which is administered by the ubiquitous National Trust).
We drove the 10 miles to the Sandbanks chain ferry and parked in the NT lot at Shell Bay. From there we boarded the 5-minute chain ferry to get to the Poole side of the bay. Then it was onto another 10-minute ferry (passengers only) to Brownsea Island (also called Branksea). First order of business after landing was to find a spot for our picnic lunch. Mission quickly accomplished.
A little history of Brownsea Island (interesting, but skip if you find this TMI – too much information). Dating back to the Tudor period, Brownsea was once a thriving community with homes, shops, a pub, a school, a church, etc. 1.5 miles long and 0.75 miles wide, it was purchased in 1927 (for £125,000) by Mary Bonham Christie to be a nature preserve for birds and animals. Over a period of six years she essentially kicked all the residents off the island, after which only invited guest were allowed to land. In 1934 a fire destroyed 2/3rds of the island. Traumatized by the event, Bonham-Christie banned all public access to the island for the rest of her life. Mrs. Christie lived alone in the island’s modest castle. The only other residents were a housekeeper, a boatman, and a caretaker. As she grew old, she refused to go to a nursing home on the mainland. The Demon of Brownsea, as she was known, died in 1961 on the mainland the same day she was transported off Brownsea in extremely poor health. She was 96 years old. Her son couldn’t afford the death duties due on his inheritance, and a group of environmentalists raised the necessary funds to bequeath the island to the care of the National Trust.
Today the island is totally owned by the National Trust save for the church which is still owned by the Church of England. The NT considered the castle to be of “little antiquity or architectural interest” and leased it to the John Lewis Partnership to be converted to a five-star hotel for use of its employees. So if you work for the Partnership which owns Waitrose, the upscale British grocery chain, you get to take vacations here for three-star prices.
We enjoyed a long walk about on the island, stopping in to see the church of St Mary the Virgin. The church has no electricity but is still used for a weekly Sunday service and for weddings. We got a private organ recital from the NT volunteer on duty. In walking we saw examples of the island’s population of peacocks and red squirrels. The squirrels are currently threatened by a form of leprosy. We also saw a beautiful pheasant.
After our walk, we took the two ferries back to Shell Bay where we stopped at the Shell Bay Café for a well earned drink. It has a stunning location, and we decided to book a table for lunch on Thursday. Then it was home to nap and have a cocktail on the patio under still perfect blue skies and warm temperatures.
Dinner was at Swanage’s highly rated Black Swan Pub. We both enjoyed a delicious Luxury Fish Pie (Salmon, King prawn, hake and skate in a crab and white wine cream sauce, covered with cheesy mash and served with vegetables of the day or a mixed leaf salad). I had grilled sardines as a starter; Elaine had a stuffed mushroom We drank a bottle of Pinot Vero from Italy with the meal and skipped desserts. Instead we drove down the waterfront and enjoyed ice cream cones there.
PICTURES (click to enlarge)
