The Brownsea Experience.

Starting this week, I'll be regularly posting images from my archive and giving a little of their back story. Some will be from client shoots, whilst others will be from my private albums featuring the most precious jewels in my life: my family and friends.

Saffy-Next -The-Sea.

 'Brownsea Island is dramatically located in Poole Harbour, with spectacular views across to the Purbeck Hills.' So goes the National Trust's blurb.

I think my first visit to Brownsea was about 1985. We wanted a holiday in the UK and looked for a cottage to hire. Quay cottage sounded ideal, so we booked it.

Cool dude! Saffron wearing my trendy sunglasses on the ferry.

And it was a fabulous holiday! The visitors don't arrive on the island until about half ten in the morning and then have to leave by about half five, so we had the place to ourselves, apart from a few of the NT workers that lived there and guests at the Castle.

And what a place! Red squirrels, Sika deer, peacocks, and a huge Nature reserve that takes up half the island. There are trees, valleys, ruins, hidden beaches, cliffs, views, the very first Camp that established the Scouting Movement, a castle, a shop, a restaurant....

Door- walkway-beach-sea.

We fell in love with 2 Quay Cottages.
Luke, Elspeth and Isobel loved the private beach that was 6 feet away from the front door. We would spend hours with a cuppa, sat watching the sea traffic coming and going from Poole Harbour, from the tiny jet-skis to the massive Channel Ferry that blocked the TV signal as it passed within a few hundred metres of us and lit up our bedroom at night. We walked the circumference of the Island in the evening, looking for the deer that would hide in the rhododendron bushes, only re-appearing when the visitors had gone away. We hammered the free ferry pass that took us one way to the car at Sandbanks, the other to Poole Quay and shops. One week was never enough....

Move on a few years. The 3 older kids are grown up, Hannah and Saffron are now part of the family and we're looking for a holiday destination. It was a no brainer- we booked 2 Quay Cottage again.

So, after a day with my brother in Portsmouth, we motored down to Sandbanks, unloaded the car and carried it all onto the ferry. As soon as we'd deposited the luggage and food in the cottage, allocated bedrooms and put the kettle on, we ventured back outside. It was a warm, slightly overcast day, the tide was out and the shingle beach was fully exposed. Saffron was so keen to paddle in the sea that we just removed her trousers and socks, rather than empty the suitcases to find the swimming cossie.

 Cautiously, she tottered over the pebbles down to the sea. The water was cold, but she wanted so desperately to get her feet wet. Just at that moment, waves created by a big boat were breaking on the shore, wetting her skinny little legs. She absent mindedly lifted her knickers to stop them getting wet, and looked so cute stood there, wanting to walk further but unsure of herself, that I took a picture.

And there it is at the top of the page. The image represents for me the whole holiday- all the 'firsts' the girls experienced; the sunny weather, the relaxed island lifestyle, the wildlife.... I'd love to take them back, one day.

We left a special present on the beach for future cottage dwellers to enjoy- I wonder how long it survived!

The ferry, interpreted using shingle from the beach.

If you have a favourite retreat, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

More soon. Paul x