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.
Action off James Island Action off James Island The Action off James Island was a naval engagement of the War of 1812. In May 1813 an American frigate captured three British whalers off James Island in the South Pacific. Only one of the whalers resisted and the resultant single-ship action was one of the few fought in Pacific waters during the war. The British later recovered all the whalers involved. Following Captain David Porter's passage of Cape Horn in a year earlier, the United States Navy vessel focused on commerce raiding by attacking British whalers off the coast of South America. After taking several