Brownsea Island ferry: 2026 fares, times and entry prices

Every way across to Brownsea, compared

Brownsea is the largest island in Poole Harbour, and every route onto it is by boat. The National Trust owns the island and names Greenslade as the day ferry. The other boats below are for specific groups of people, or have stopped running. Everything in the table was read on the operators’ own pages on 24 October 2026, and the season dates again on 1 November.

How much does a day on Brownsea cost?

Everyone pays the ferry fare to Greenslade, National Trust members included. Non-members then pay island entry at Visitor Reception when they land (National Trust: Brownsea Island prices). The totals below add the two published prices together. The age bands differ: Greenslade charges the child ferry fare from 5 to 16, while the Trust’s child entry runs from 5 to 17, so a 17-year-old pays the adult fare on the boat and the child price on the island.

Groups book in advance and pay £10.50 an adult and £5 a child for entry. Gift Aid on entry is not offered at Brownsea, so there is no separate Gift Aid price. The Trust labels its entry prices as applying from 14 March, the start of the 2026 season.

Brownsea ferry timetable from Poole Quay

The National Trust publishes this timetable for the Poole Quay ferry, read on 24 October 2026. Boats leave Poole on the hour until noon, then at 1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm, with no 1pm sailing. Each return boat leaves Brownsea half an hour after a departure from Poole.

You don’t have to pick a return time: the Trust says visitors choose which boat to come back on, except on days when a large group is on the island and is given a set crossing. The 5pm boat off Brownsea can be busy, and the Trust advises catching an earlier one at weekends and in school holidays.

Do you need to book the Brownsea ferry?

No. Groups of 15 or more, including groups staying at the campsite, book in advance, and everyone else buys a ticket at the orange kiosk. A ticket does not guarantee a seat on a particular sailing. Each boat has a strict passenger limit, people board in the order they queued, and booked groups board first.

When a boat fills, Greenslade says the wait for the next can be 30 to 50 minutes. Its advice for busy days is to arrive early, or after the peak, and to ask the crew how long the queue is before joining it. The boat has a covered lower deck, with seats taken as people board.

Is there a ferry from Sandbanks to Brownsea?

Not for day visitors in 2026. Part of the National Trust’s Sandbanks jetty collapsed in November 2024 after the sandy seabed eroded, and the old jetty has since been taken down. A new jetty was started at the end of 2025. It now carries a limited boat service for staff and volunteers, and the Trust says visitor services will not return until 2027.

Two boats still use Sandbanks. The Seahorse landing craft takes wheelchair users from the Sandbanks Yacht Company slipway, a crossing of about 10 minutes. It is open to the weather, has no seats, and runs only on dates the Trust lists. The Trust’s winter boat from the Sandbanks jetty is for guests at South Shore Lodge, its holiday house on the island, and runs from 2 November 2026 to 13 March 2027.

For the Sandbanks chain ferry to Studland, which is a different crossing, see Sandbanks ferry times and prices.

When is Brownsea open?

Brownsea closed for the 2026 season at 5pm on Sunday 1 November, and Greenslade’s ferry ran from 14 March to 1 November. In the season’s last week the island was open daily from 10am to 5pm, and the Villano Café from 10am to 4.45pm. On 1 November 2026 neither had published 2027 dates.

While the island is closed to day visitors, the National Trust’s Brownsea page lists a few ticketed winter events on it: a red squirrel walk with cream tea in the castle on dates from 5 to 26 November (sold out on 1 November) and festive wreath-making from 8 to 10 December, whose ticket covers the boat, island entry, the workshop and a two-course lunch.

High winds can shut the island on a day when it would be open: it was closed on 23 and 24 October 2026. The Trust confirms any weather closure by 3pm the day before on its website and social media, so check there the evening before a trip.

Parking and getting to Poole Quay

The car park the National Trust gives for the ferry is BCP Council’s Quay Visitors multi-storey, BH15 1SB, a long-stay car park with 539 spaces and a 1.9 metre height limit. From 8am to 6pm it charges £2.60 for up to 2 hours, £5.10 for up to 4 hours, £7.80 for up to 6 hours and £12.90 for up to 10 hours (BCP Council: Quay Visitors multi-storey car park). A Brownsea day from the 10am boat to the 5pm one fits the 10-hour ticket. Taller vehicles go to the surface car parks at Baiter, which the Trust puts at a 15-minute walk from the quay.

Without a car, Poole railway station is half a mile from the quay, and the Poole town circular bus links the station and bus station with the quay. Bikes cannot go on the ferry. The Dolphin Centre cycle hub in Poole has 29 spaces, and there are cycle racks on the quay.

Dogs, pushchairs and wheelchairs

Dogs are not allowed anywhere on Brownsea, except clearly identifiable assistance dogs. The Trust gives the island’s red squirrels and nesting birds as the reason.

The ferry has a steep gangway and steep steps down to the lower deck, and passengers carry their own pushchairs on and off, with no staff to help. Free all-terrain pushchairs can be borrowed on the island, and booking ahead on 01202 492164 is advisable. Wheelchair users who cannot manage the gangway use the Seahorse, booked on 01202 707744. On the island, the Trust hires out all-terrain manual wheelchairs and a Tramper, and the Squirrel Shuttle minibus runs guided tours at 11.40am and 1.40pm, with eight seats on each.

How long do you need on Brownsea Island?

A visit fits between the first boat over at 10am and the last one back at 5pm. The National Trust’s wildlife walk from the church is 1 mile and takes about 30 minutes, and its viewpoint walk from the visitor centre is 3 miles and takes about 2 hours, mostly on flat paths with a few slopes at the far end. The natural play area is a 20-minute walk from the Outdoor Centre.

The Villano Café stops serving hot food at 2.30pm, and sandwiches and cake are sold until it closes. The island has no bins, so visitors take their rubbish home. There are toilets at the Courtyard, the Visitor Centre and the Outdoor Centre.

What is Brownsea Island famous for?

Red squirrels and Scouting. Dorset Wildlife Trust, which manages 100 hectares on the north of the island, estimates that about 250 red squirrels live there (Dorset Wildlife Trust: Brownsea Island). Its lagoon has two bird hides and the Lookout observatory, with avocets, black-tailed godwits and spoonbills in autumn and winter, and terns in summer. Baden-Powell held his first experimental Scout camp on the island in 1907, on the site of today’s Outdoor Centre and campsite.

The castle began as a blockhouse that Henry VIII built to guard the harbour entrance, and two of its original walls are still part of it (National Trust: History of Brownsea Island). The Trust uses the castle for ticketed events, such as its red squirrel walk with cream tea in the castle.

Frequently asked questions

Can you swim at Brownsea Island?

Yes, from the south and west shores. The National Trust lists landing and picnic points along those shores where visitors can paddle or swim. The south shore is shallow and usually fairly calm, and kayaks and paddleboards were for hire there from 3 April to 27 September 2026.

Can you stay overnight on Brownsea?

Yes. The National Trust campsite at the Outdoor Centre has tent pitches, bell tents, tree tents and shepherd’s huts, and was open from 3 April to 28 September 2026. Island entry is included in a campsite booking but the ferry is not. Its glamping options are set against other sites in glamping near Bournemouth.

Can you see Brownsea Island without landing?

Yes. Coastal Cruises’ 70-minute harbour and islands cruise from Poole Quay passes Brownsea without stopping, at £14.50 an adult in 2026. Unlike the Brownsea ferry, it keeps running in winter, daily except Mondays and Fridays, from 1 November to 24 December 2026 and again from 14 February 2027. Other trips from the quay, including the Swanage boat, are compared in boat trips from Poole.

Check prices for Coastal Cruises Poole on GetYourGuide →

Related guides

• Boat trips from Poole: harbour cruises, Swanage and the Jurassic Coast
• Sandbanks ferry: the chain ferry to Studland
• Sandbanks parking: car parks and roads near the Seahorse slipway
• Glamping near Bournemouth
• Things to do in Bournemouth