Swanage Day 4 - Brownsea Island

Brownsea Island is a large island in Poole harbour.  It is mostly owned by the National Trust, although the church is still the property of the Church of England and the castle is leased by the John Lewis Partnership.  The promised rain had arrived at the predicted time and had washed much of the tree sap off the car, but the windows were still filthy.  Since the rain had stopped, the day was beginning to warm, and it felt strange using the scraper to get the film of sap and rain off the windows. We drove to Sandbanks and parked on the side of the road a little short of the toll booth.  For foot passengers, the toll is £1 and is only charged coming in the other direction.  So we boarded the chain ferry and experienced the incredibly loud noise it makes close up. At the other side, it is a 1-minute walk to the toll booth for the Brownsea Island ferry, so we soon had our tickets and were aboard the second ferry for the day.  Eight minutes later we were on Brownsea. The name relates to the shape of the Island, with 'sea' being a recent change to the ending to distinguish it from other names in the locality.

Being a NT property, no dogs are allowed, so this is the main thing we could not have done had Brody been with us.  Once again, I was struck (put off) by the NT business model.  The entry price is £6.00, but they ask for £6.60 as the gift-aided price, and then ask you to gift aid it.  So I pay 10% more and the government contributes.  Yes, I know the theory, but my tax does not work like that, my gift aid allowance is estimated, and as my giving is at a reasonable level this one transaction will not figure in the calculation.

To calm me down we stopped for tea in the café, it also served as a better way of waiting for the guided tour which was not due to start for a while.  The guide did a great job, and then we were left on our own to explore.  We decided to lunch first, so back to the café.  Lunch was good, NT cafés usually serve good food in my experience.

Next it was out to the woods on a red squirrel hunt.  We saw lots of red squirrels. I have lots of pictures, mostly of blurred black/red tails, which is the most noticeable part, I haven't checked yet to see if there are any really good ones, though I doubt it  - they just don't stay still long enough.    There is a healthy population on Brownsea because there are no: grey squirrels, foxes, cats or dogs.

Brownsea has had many uses over the last couple of centuries, at one point houses were built for clay miners, and they were later used by daffodil farmers.  They are at the opposite end of the island to the ferry terminal (quay side) so as Jo's knee is hurting we split up.  What a disappointment.  The houses were demolished in controlled explosions in the 1960s (when the NT took over) - because they were deemed to be unsafe.  Heritage destroyed by those entrusted to save it.  Now they get really excited about a galvanized toilet liner!

After tea and cake, we made our way back to the hotel, then after a short break headed into town for our last-night meal.  Swanage has many places that look interesting and inviting.  The one I had seen a couple of times was closed, so we wandered round a bit and found Tawneys. It hadn't been on the list, from the outside it is rather drab, and looks empty - usually a sign that it is not popular.  The menu looked good, though, and we didn't want to turn around and walk any further.  Inside the table-tops are supported on old sowing machines - treadles still in place and working, there is modern art on the walls and sofas at the back for the 'wine bar' area.  The food however is excellent, and so is the service - we both enjoyed our meal.

The walk back to the hotel was the first we had done in the dark.  Swanage has lights put up along the same lines as other seaside towns (e.g. Southend), but here they are not switched on.  It was a lovely still, warm evening and the walk back was very pleasant, with the sound of the sea and the contrasting blackness to the shops and street lights.  Too early still for the 'night-life' to have got going.

A wedding and a visit to Killhope

For the August Bank Holiday we travelled north, further north than we've been for quite some time. On the Friday I drove the almost 7 hour journey to County Durham. The traffic was slow almost all the way. We arrived in time for an evening meal. The Foresters Guest House seems to be the village pub and restaurant as well as a B&B. I can definitely recommend this place, the food is good, the room was lovely and the views are outstanding. The wedding of our God son was a lovely service even if Brancepeth church, in the grounds of the castle, was quite hard to find. The church looks lovely, not just because of the wedding but because it has been partly re-built after a fire. The brides mother presided at the wedding service and the grooms father preached the sermon. The bride and groom assisted with the cups at communion - a lovely meaningful act demonstrating the service that they are both committed to in Christ. I had never seen that before, but would love to again. 

Jo ready to go underground

On Sunday we visited Killhope lead mine.  What a name!  Lead mining was undoubtedly difficult and this mine is certainly out of the way, but Killhope - surely not that bad.  Well not now anyway, we were shown round the mine - loaned wellies as the paths in the mine are under water. Its only enough to cover shoes in most places, but without wellington boots you'd get very wet feet. I won't tell you their little underground secret.  After the underground tour finished we spent some time watching the water wheel and looking at all the ancient machinery - most of it still working- well moving anyway.

What a shame they don't put the water wheel to good use and generate some electricity!

They have a woodland surrounding the mine where they are planting Juniper trees and turning the habitat back to a native English environment.  See the panel below for more details.  We set out for a walk through the woods, the paths are carefully marked because of the work that has been done in the hills to channel water down to the reservoirs. 

Killhope Site and Wildlife Information

There are also natural sink holes that exist because of the geology and have nothing to do with human mining activity.  You could easily be forgiven for thinking that the holes are caused by us and the channels are natural, as some of them are not very straight.

There are Red Surirrel in the wood also.  They have a hide set up, it is surrounded by all manner of nut dispensers, so the squirrels should never go hungry.  We were told in the shop that they had been active so were looking forward to seeing one.  I had never seen a red squirrel.  We sat in the hide watching various birds eat the nuts and a solitary rabbit pretend to be a statue.  It was warm and I was tired.  I began to doze.  Two or three times I woke and tried to pay attention, to keep the camera pointing at the most likely location for action. Then there it was my first red squirrel.  First I watched it, then I got my camera and it started to run.  I didn't know they were camera shy.  I snapped and hoped.  Here's the image, cropped and 'fixed' so that the animal is more visible:

There is just enough evidence to tell it is a squirrel - look at the ears.  My career as David Attenborough's successor has got off to a poor start, but we had a fantastic weekend and completed another of the 25 things project.