Brownsea Island – The Real Location Behind The Island Murders
Brownsea Island is a real island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, run by the National Trust and reached by boat from Poole Quay, and it's the setting for The Island Murders, book 3 in my Dorset Crime series. Here's what I found when I went exploring, and the question about its squirrels that I still can't answer.
Where are the Brownsea Island red squirrels?
I have a question. What happens to the Brownsea Island squirrels when all the tourists go home at night?
The reason I want to know is because I've been to Brownsea Island a few times now. And I have to admit I've never seen one of the fabled red squirrels.
It's one of the things that Brownsea is famous for: the birds, the historic buildings, the slightly incongruous John Lewis hotel, and the squirrels. Red squirrels, of course. Don't forget the red.
That's important, because there aren't that many places in the UK where you can see red squirrels these days.
So when I've visited Brownsea, I've always had a good old look in the woods. The western side of the island is largely covered in pine forest. But as far as I can tell, there's no sign of the squirrels.
So the question is: if there were a squirrel posted as a lookout on the quay on the eastern side of the island, does that squirrel give the alarm when the first boat of the morning arrives at Brownsea?
I've got a mental image of a line of squirrels posted across the island. Just close enough to see each other, but far enough apart that they can cover the length and breadth of the island with the minimum number of squirrels. Maybe there's some kind of secret signal: 'The boat's here. Hide, everybody.'
Because surely it's not some kind of con. There are plenty of photographs of red squirrels on Brownsea Island, so they must exist.
Or maybe it's just me.
Who lives on Brownsea Island?
You can stay overnight on Brownsea Island. The people who work there for the National Trust do, of course. There's a small community that lives as well as works there, in addition to the National Trust staff and volunteers who commute back and forth every day. And then there are the people who work for John Lewis who are lucky enough to get to stay (or work) in the castle. Or in reality, the John Lewis hotel.
I feature these two communities in The Island Murders. I was fascinated by the idea of living on an island where your neighbours are also your colleagues. You can never get away from your boss. You'll always be on, in work terms.
What would that feel like? And how much more intense would that get if one of your colleagues was murdered?
Researching The Island Murders on Brownsea Island
The day I spent exploring the locations for this book was one of the most wonderful days of research I've ever undertaken.
It was May 2021, and the island had only just reopened after the lockdowns of 2020. The number of people allowed on the island (or to be fair, on the boat from Poole Quay) at any one time was limited, so I booked in advance and made my way across with only nine other passengers.
Once at Brownsea Island, it felt like I'd landed in another world.
I passed the church – an imposing building whose scale surprised me – and found the island's noisiest resident: the lone peacock. And jeez, is he noisy. You can hear him shrieking from halfway across the island.
I continued walking along the boardwalks running through the reeds on the east of the island. Here I stopped. Without the noise of my footsteps or any other human beings, the only sound was a cacophony of birdsong. The birds had spent the last year undisturbed by humans, and they were clearly enjoying it. You can hear it in the video I recorded there.
For the bulk of the day it felt like I was alone there, which gave me an eerie appreciation for what it would be like to be one of Brownsea's tiny population.
(Although I did make friends with a seagull who had his eye on my latte. Maybe it was Kevin the seagull, who features in my Jurassic Coast Mysteries, giving an early audition for the role? He won't think much of that coffee, it's got soya milk.)
Who owns Brownsea Castle?
As you approach the island by boat, you can't miss the castle to the left of the quay. It's clearly visible from Sandbanks and the ferry, and it's always intrigued me. And it doesn't belong to the National Trust, unlike the rest of the island.
Instead, it's the property of John Lewis. Yes, that John Lewis. It's for the exclusive use of John Lewis partners. Being able to stay there is one of the perks of being part of the John Lewis team.
This got me thinking. The John Lewis population is transitory; holidaymakers in all but name. Alongside these tourists, there's a tiny population of hotel staff. How would they get along with the larger National Trust team? Would rivalries emerge?
I'm sure that in reality, things are entirely harmonious. But in the book, I allow my imagination to run wild. Rivalries between and within the two teams, secrets that have been hidden until DCI Lesley Clarke's arrival on the island, and someone with a motive for murder.
What is there to see on Brownsea Island?
Brownsea is full of history and atmosphere. There's the old farm in the island's centre, the scout camp on the south where Robert Baden-Powell tested out his ideas for scouting in 1907, and beaches, forests and those elusive red squirrels.
The red squirrels don't have much of a role in the book. But the forests and beaches do.
Maybe the squirrels were watching. And maybe that's why they hide when the tourists arrive.
Read more
New to the series? Start with The Corfe Castle Murders, or get the prequel novella The Ballard Down Murder free.
