Winter on Brownsea Island

Island resident John Cantell tells us about life on Brownsea in the deep midwinter

You know that the festive season is underway on Brownsea Island when we put up the Christmas tree, provided by Dorset Wildlife Trust, on the pier. It’s a local landmark and there are often comment on social media if it goes up later than it should! Our own tree is a pine cut from the island’s heathland area, an opportunity to combine Christmas and conservation.

Boat trips to get supplies, and knowing the boat timetable, is part of our daily life my job here is as a Boat Operator and Countryside Ranger. Any forgotten ingredients for Christmas dinners can usually be sorted by neighbours. We have to keep the boat in service in all weather conditions. Even in winter we still maintain an hourly service between 07002300 every day, with standby boatmen through the night, which we run in conjunction with John Lewis Partnership (JLP) who lease Brownsea Castle. The only time boats don’t run to a timetable is Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. We alternate Christmas week cover each year. This year it’s our turn.