We have actual travel content today! I went on my first holiday of 2021! It was a two night camping trip, except it was slightly better than camping because I was in a tree tent! Brownsea adventure camping has finally, after 100+ years, opened to the general public. I’ve camped with my Guides before and I enjoyed the serenity of the island after the visitors had departed, give or take the squabbling teenagers I was supposed to be managing. So when I finally had the opportunity to camp on my own, in a tree, I leapt on it.
Well. I leapt on it a year ago but I think we all know why it didn’t happen over the August bank holiday of 2020 as originally booked. The website said it wasn’t reopening for 2021 either so I emailed them and asked if my booking was in limbo or if it had been cancelled and refunded and they said “ah, we’re reopening in three weeks and we were just about to get in contact with last year’s cancellations to give them priority” and three and a half weeks later, I was on the ferry.
I’ll do a post about my weekend on Thursday but I wanted to start with a kind of review / tour / promotion of the site.
Getting there
Your booking includes your camping fee and landing fee but it doesn’t include the ferry. That’s because you can arrive by your own boat if you have one and so the ferry is extra. At the moment, all day visitors arrive and depart on set ferries; they don’t get to come home when they’re tired or they’ve had enough, they come home when the ticket says so. Campers arrive on the empty ferries that are going over to bring back the last three loads of visitors – 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm, to bring them back on the hour. That means there’s a good chance of getting the ferry to yourself, which is for the best when you’re carrying luggage and trying to keep social distancing in mind.
The ferries are operated by two companies: the yellow ones are Brownsea Island Ferries and the orange and white ones are Greenslade. In the before times, you paid for a ticket and got on whichever ferry came along, in a way that makes me wonder why the two companies don’t just merge. Now you have to make sure you pay the correct company and the only way to find out which that is is to go up to the kiosk and ask. You tell them you’re camping, they may look confused and then I paid £12.50 (in cash! in these days!) to Brownsea Island Ferries, at the yellow kiosk. They closed up shop before I set off so it seems likely that the 3.30 and 4.30 ferries are operated by Greenslade but go and ask.
The ferry arrives about 2.20, with the 2pm lot leaving the island. There’s a 2.15 harbour tour that has to leave first so once that’s gone, you know the next one in is your boat. Get on the boat, take a seat upstairs and enjoy the peace on your twenty-minute sailing to Brownsea.
I was met on the quay by a National Trust lady who gave me a map and sent me on my way. I’m very familiar with Brownsea and knew where I was going but whoever greets you will give you more detail if you need it. It’s about a mile and is signposted to take about 25 minutes. Follow the path away from the buildings, past Baden-Powell, turn left at the church and follow the path uphill, with the visitor centre and farm on your left and then keep going until you reach the Scout Stone. The campsite is below it via one of the three paths.
I was very lucky. I was the only camper arriving by ferry on that Friday and the campsite manager happened to be passing with his van and picked me up. I had far too much luggage and it was hot and I abandoned my principles and jumped in the van. I believe there’s a once-a-day cargo run with a tractor if you time it right and have your own equipment.
When you return, pick up a boarding pass from reception. You’ll be on the 10am, 11am or 12pm ferry which are the empty ones returning from the first three drop-offs of day visitors so you’ll still have it to yourself. I found the ferry staff had no interest whatsoever in my boarding pass; they knew I was coming and they took one look at my backpack and ushered me onboard.
The campsite
The first thing you’ll see at the bottom of the slope is the outdoor centre complex. There are public toilets for visitors, showers for campers opposite and then behind that is the campsite reception and the trading post, occupying two sides of a decked picnic area. Go to reception and they’ll show you to your pitch.
Meanwhile, back at the outdoor centre: the trading post is the Scout and camping souvenir shop, really. It’s got a small museum of events and badges and a ceiling absolutely hung with neckerchiefs from visitors all over the world. You can buy a Brownsea t-shirt here, or the usual collection of plastic mugs and bookmarks and coasters and most importantly, badges. I recommend the Brownsea Blue (no. 60), the diamond-shaped blue badge. They’ve changed subtly over the years. My mid-90s one is very different to the one I bought last weekend. There are also some more fun and some more decorative ones but the Brownsea Blue is the classic. Cash only here.
Parked at the end of reception is a snack van. It’s open during visitor hours because it’s more for day visitors than campers, really. It sells ice cream, hot & cold drinks, pre-packaged sandwiches, chocolate and crisps, that sort of thing. It’s basically the same as what’s on offer at the Villano Cafe on the quay, minus the hot food (mostly baked potatoes) but it saves you a mile walk there and another mile walk back.
Hidden around the third side of the decking are the camper facilities: three proper flushing toilets, including an accessible one, three washing-up sinks and a row of drinking water taps. There’s foam soap in the toilets and at the washing-up sinks, and there’s also paper towels at the washing-up sinks and you’re more likely to get warm water out of the taps there too. And they have levers so if you want to hygienically turn the water off with your elbow after washing your hands, the washing-up taps are better for that. There’s hand sanitiser by the drinking water and also on the deck.
The showers, as I said, are on the other side of the little complex. I didn’t go into the men’s but in the women’s there are four or five cubicles with a fold-down seat and a hook on the door. There’s a curtain rail and curtain rings but no curtains so make sure you put your dry stuff well out of reach of the water. It’s warm and operated by a push-button. When I’ve camped with the Guides, these are often locked during the day (presumably to stop day visitors…. wandering in and having a shower?) but they were open the whole time I was camping last week and there was no mention of them ever being locked.
And finally, there are bins hidden down the side of the trading post, separated into general and recyclable. Make sure you put the lids on so the local wildlife can’t get in.
I made a reel of the campsite facilities:
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The pitch
I had a tree tent so I was in the field immediately in front of the outdoor centre. I spied five tree tents and mine was on the right-hand side of the field, with views over Furzey Island and Purbeck. There was a second tent just across, a little more shaded but probably without the views.
The two tents had their own cooking shelter – an open-sided shelter with two tables and a gas stove. You’re not allowed to bring your own stove because it’s a fire risk. Brownsea is a giant tinderbox, especially in the summer, and fire engines don’t float. I guess the reason they provide stoves and don’t let you bring your own is because these are far too big and cumbersome to carry off to another part of the island and have an accident with. They have huge blue gas canisters, the size of a large toddler, and then two burners.
More importantly, perhaps, they provide a box of cooking equipment! I had three dixies and lids of various sizes, three knives of various sizes, a frying pan, a colander, a measuring jug, a pair of tongs, a large serving spoon, a peeler, a fish slice/spatula-thing, a tin opener and a pair of scissors and although there wasn’t a kettle in the box, I had the option of borrowing one separately from reception, which I turned down because I don’t drink hot drinks. If you want anything really specialist, bring it with you but 95% of campers will find everything they need in the cooking box. Wash it up afterwards and bring the box back to reception by 10.30am on checkout day. It’s not very heavy considering how much is in it. Good luck rearranging everything so you can get the lid back on!
If you go through the woods at the bottom of the field (there’s a gate and a path) you’ll come to the second field, or you can take the path down from outside the drinking taps. This field is where BP held his historic experimental camp in 1907 and it’s marked by a flagpole. I had neighbours here who’d brought their own tents. They have another cooking shelter and beyond that is a third, where my other neighbours were camping. As far as the shelters go, I don’t know if it’s always one per field or whether there would be more up if there were more campers. Do all five tree tents share the cooking shelter outside my tent or do they put up more of them closer to the others? I guess I’ll find out because I enjoyed it so much that I’ve booked to return.
The tent
The tree tent is basically a glorified hammock. It’s meant to be suspended a maximum of four feet off the ground but I think mine was lower. The strength of it is in the floor, then it has a transparent mesh inner and a removable flysheet over the top to keep the rain off and give you some privacy. I was recommended to not remove it or undo too much of it because it’s very difficult to put back on by one person. It’s clipped onto the support straps at each corner and then they’re folded underneath and hooked onto d-rings. You can also peg them out to create a large covered area under the tent but Brownsea doesn’t have them set up like that.
If I owned that tent, I’d glue some loops and tapes on so I could roll the sides up and enjoy the view. On Friday it was breezy, so I unhooked one side and the breeze lifted it enough for me to see out but on Saturday the weather was still and if you roll the sides up, they fall right back down again. When I return, I’m going to take some big gentle clips, like the ones you put your hair up with, to hold them up.
Access is either via the big zip door on the side of the tent, underneath the rain cover (best for luggage!) or via the triangular hatch in the bottom. I had a webbing rope ladder hanging underneath but it’s not high enough to actually climb. You put a foot in it and it pulls the middle of the tent down far enough to just get in through the hatch like you’re sitting on a wall. In fact, my tent was low enough that I could stand in the middle with the tent around my hips, press down with my hands and climb in like sitting on a wall.
The hatch is a double layer of mesh with a zip so you can use it for storage of smallish flattish things as long as you don’t mind that they’re exposed to the open air underneath. Better for sandals than phones is what I’m saying. There are lots of small fabric loops around the edge of the floor and along the poles. I have no idea what they’re actually for but I rapidly concluded that next time, I’m bringing karabiners to attach my stuff to them because bags and sleeping mats especially have a habit of sliding into the middle.
The tent is divided into three “bays” by a the support straps which run through the floor. Supposedly that means it balances very nicely when three people sleep in it, each supported by a kind of internal hammock between the straps. In practice, according to the lady in the trading post, all three people slide into the middle and end up sleeping in a pile. With one person, I found I ended up sleeping with my feet on my bag. There are crossed elastic straps in each corner which I think are meant for storage but they definitely work better for a spare jumper than for a 65l backpack and they do nothing for small things like your phone, camera and book.
That said, it’s very comfortable. The corners are raised a little, so you don’t need so much pillow and once you’ve found a way to lie without your mat sliding down into the middle, it’s very comfy to lie down whichever way you feel like. I didn’t feel like the “bays” supported me like a hammock and I did kind of sleep with my mat across the central hatch but it is very comfortable.
You don’t need your mat for cushioning or comfort, by the way. The tent has plenty of give in it and it swings very slightly in the breeze and when you move, so bear that in mind if you’re prone to seasickness. No, you need the mat for insulation because there’s nothing except a nylon floor between you and several feet of cold air. Very comfortable to sit on during the day but you want the insulation at night.
It’s a Tentsile Stingray, in case you’re interested. They sell for about £700 each and I bet it’s hard to find suitable trees if you’re taking it out on your own, let alone a campsite that’s willing to let you pitch it. They all have the same bright green floor as mine but the rain covers come in various colours. I had a matching bright green one but I saw a darker green, an orange and a dark grey-black around the site too. I think I’d choose orange if I was to buy one, just because maybe the orange walls and green floor would neutralise each other.
I made a reel of the tent too:
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Sleeping
Once the day visitors are gone, the only inhabitants of the island are you and your fellow campers, a warden in a cottage nearby in case of emergencies and anyone staying at the hotel or cottages. The hotel is the castle, it’s owned by the John Lewis Partnership and it’s not open to the general public. There are National Trust cottages on the quay, two of them. Agent’s House sleeps six and Custom House sleeps four but they’re over a mile away and you won’t hear them (they’re already completely booked up this summer).
It’s so peaceful! Well… it’s probably more peaceful than your home is. But once the visitors are gone, you realise you can hear a background hum of the oil works on Furzey Island – it’s just a hum but it’s ever-present, all night long. You’ll think there are vans and motorbikes driving along the path up by the Scout Stone but actually, it’s boats in the harbour. The loudest ones are the small motorboats. The Condor ferries (catamarans going to the Channel Islands) and the Barfleur (ferry to Cherbourg) go in and out at unspecified times but you probably won’t hear them. I heard the Condor’s foghorn around lunchtime on Saturday. People land on the beaches in their own crafts so you may hear people paddling after visitor hours and you might hear voices of paddleboarders, especially early in the morning.
What you’ll mostly hear is the screaming of peacocks. There were two males and three or four females hanging around the campsite last weekend and they scream all night. Bless ’em. They’ll also pester you for food. Don’t give in to them. You can’t shove them away because they see hands and think they’re being offered food and try to peck. They don’t even notice if you flap your hands and shoo them. Just discourage them by never giving them food and not dropping any by accident: they’ll be straight on you if you drop so much as a single cornflake, and I’d never imagined how sensitive their hearing is to have noticed that from ten feet away while walking in the opposite direction.
You’ll also hear the whistling of oystercatchers down on the shore and the twittering of lots of small birds. I heard a weird whirring noise that appears to be the elusive nightjar buzzing around in the heather at the other side of the site. And you might hear the rustling of red squirrels and deer in the trees.
There, I’ve gone and made it sound really noisy! It’s not, it’s pretty peaceful other than the screaming.
The recommendation
Because it’s only been open to the public for the first time ever this very month, Brownsea is more likely than other places to have availability this summer, at least until everyone notices. You can bring your own tent or hire a pre-pitched tent or of course, stay in the tree tents. I’ve even spied pre-pitched hammocks on the bookings. There’s a two night minimum, which I think is just right. One night would mean packing up almost before you’ve arrived and I don’t think there’s enough to keep me entertained on Brownsea for another night. But an afternoon, a full day and a bit of morning is plenty for enjoying a bit of peace and tranquility on your own island retreat and I liked it enough that I lay in my hammock on Sunday morning booking to return. Prices for two nights for tomorrow (available at time of writing although I don’t promise they still are now!) are £120 for the tree tent (sleeps three), £90 for the hammock (sleeps one) and £80 for a tent pitch. Those places fluctuate depending on the month and the day but that gives you a rough idea of what you’re looking at. For what it’s worth, my first night was £50 when I booked it last year and my second night, booked three days in advance, was £55 and although that’s expensive for camping, I think it’s not bad for glamping, with your tent pitched for you, cooking equipment thrown in and your landing fee included, which is £9 for an adult and £4.50 for a child.
Coming up: spend a weekend with me on Brownsea Island!
