Reached via a short boat journey from Poole Quay, Brownsea Island is a 500 acre island of pinewood, heathland and salt-marsh with a long and varied history.There is evidence of a settlement in the area dating from the 5th century BC and further evidence suggesting the existence of a community there in the 3rd century AD and in medieval times. In the 16th century control of the island passed to Henry VIII who, recognising its strategic importance in protecting Poole, by now a thriving port, built...