Brownsea Island Theatre, annually performing the works of William Shakespeare. The island has a visitor centre and museum, displaying the island's history. There is also a newly located shop and cafe, with one holiday cottage on the quay. At the Scout camp at the south-west of the Island there is an outdoor centre and a trading post shop which is focused on the Scout movement. The Dorset Wildlife Trust operates on the island from an old villa. The island has a single post box that is emptied each day. In October 2008, the island was featured on BBC One's annual "Autumnwatch" programme.
Brownsea Island in winter, when more than 50 per cent of British bird species (over 1500) can be present. Some imported stonework and statuary on the island serves as a habitat for a Mediterranean land snail, "Papillifera bidens". The first records of inhabitants on Brownsea Island occurred in the 9th century, when a small chapel and hermitage were built by monks from Cerne Abbey near Dorchester. The chapel was dedicated to St Andrew and the only resident of the island was a hermit, who may have administered to the spiritual welfare of sailors passing through Poole Harbour. In 1015, Canute led a