Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
2.1km²
Area
6km
Coastline
39m
Highest point
30
People
17°C
Warmest sea
August
107km
To the mainland
When to go to Brownsea Island
Best to visit from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (17 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England, UK
Brownsea Island is an island in United Kingdom. It covers 2.1 km², with 6 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 39 m. About 30 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 107 km away.
Getting there
- Bournemouth Airport (BOH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 14 km in a straight lineCar hire at BOH airport (Bournemouth)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesPoole (UK) - Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (F), Poole Quay - Brownsea Island, Poole (UK) - Jersey (GBJ)
- 107 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Brownsea Island.
- 7beaches
- 8viewpointsCaroline Cliff and 7 more
- 1ferry terminalsBrownsea Island Ferry Terminal
- 1castles and fortsBrownsea Castle
- 7waymarked walking routesAll Terrain Wheelchair Route, Brownsea Island, Calming Cambridge Woods, Brownsea Island, Wildlife and Wetland Walk, Brownsea Island and 4 more
- 1campsitesBaden Powell Outdoor Centre
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 18 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
2 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Night low (°C) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 8 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 71 | 64 | 49 | 52 | 52 | 55 | 65 | 50 | 94 | 102 | 100 |
| Wet days | 15 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 1.5 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 31 | 30 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.7 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.6 | −0.7 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +2.0 | +1.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Isle of Wight
United Kingdom380 km²241 m47 km away
Isle of PortlandUnited Kingdom12 km²149 m37 km away
Alderney
Guernsey8.1 km²90 m110 km away
GuernseyGuernsey63 km²110 m144 km awayBarry IslandUnited Kingdom41 m120 km away
SarkGuernsey5.3 km²114 m143 km away
HermGuernsey1.3 km²66 m140 km away
Jersey
Jersey120 km²143 m165 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q751086) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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