Brownsea Island was the mystical place where it had all begun of us

My post retirement activities have each reached a point needing continuous attention that will take me to Vietnam and to the south coast of Dorset, both pretty good holiday destinations.

Today I’m reporting on a childhood dream, Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour south Dorset.

More on the former in future articles.

Scouting was one of the great formative elements of my youth.

As Craigy Hill developed on the edge of Larne, so did the sixth Larne cub pack, followed by the scout group, both right on my door step; so I was among the first to join each.

I have been forever grateful to the men and women who gave of their time and energy to create this opportunity; sadly though I don’t remember all their names.

I think Ambrose Willis and his family were key instigators but there were others.

We began our outdoors learning in our local countryside, within half a day’s hiking range, camping in the woods at Magheramorne, Kilwaughter and Carnfunnock, good places all.

Each was made available to us until the main scout camp for Northern Ireland was created at Crawfordsburn.

At that point, we developed a tradition of an Easter camp there, unsupervised, just us lads on our own.

We made lots of mistakes but we learned all the more for it.

We revelled in building bridges and especially aerial runways or zip lines as they are called today.

We built camp kitchens and once even dragged a river bed for mud to make a camp oven for a roast dinner.

Throughout this process, Baden-Powell’s ‘Scouting for Boys’ was our guide and to us, Brownsea Island was known as the near mystical place where it had all begun.

I don’t know why but for all the scouting and travelling I have done since, I never made it there, until now. Maybe I was afraid of bursting the bubble. I need not have worried.

The National Trust, aided and abetted by the Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Scouting Association have made a great job of maintaining this island paradise of broad leaf wild wood. It teems with animals, birds and insects.

Above all, it is easy to see how at that first B-P camp, it could represent real wilderness but in a safe 500 acre microcosm.

It’s a great day out and longer stays with real adventure and other activities are readily available.

My delight was tinged with some sadness, though.

I had just had a briefing on the Dorset LEP (a near quivalent of Invest NI) economy and learned that just across the narrowest strip of water, exist areas of huge deprivation and poor attainment alongside some of the most expensive property in Europe.

These dichotomies must be rectified and soon.

Brownsea Island and the other places above each has a new and worthy existence, Wildlife reserve, Game of Thrones tourism and local amenity but where are the places and organisations that allow and encourage young men and women to learn self-reliance, service and citizenship?

Schools have been driven to obsession over the six GCSEs to the near exclusion of all else.

Individual families however well-intentioned and resourced cannot achieve the experiential learning that comes from a group of young people on their own, living in the outdoors and discovering their inner strengths and a sense of purpose.