I visited Brownsea Island with the tourist board to see the red squirrels from a hide. Just a side trip from Poole harbour, where we had previously visited Poole Pottery.
No camping necessary. But, apparently, some people like the idea of camping overnight, not to save money, but because it evokes memories of Enid Blyton's books about the Famous Five.
The Joys Of Camping
I tried camping once as a teenager. It is one step worse than hiking. I discovered to my horros, that instead of the mere inconvenience of walking carrying your water, looking for a bush to go to the toilet, when camping overnight, you have to trek in the dark, stumbling over the tree roots, which might make you wet yourself with shock, to a smelly communal toilet.
Modern camp sites with spaces for caravans, and swimming pools and toilet blocks are another matter. I have enjoyed those. For no more than one night for the novelty. I am not typical, even within my own family.
My husband is enthusiastically off camping. Putting up his own tent in the garden for practice. He stays three nights in splendour, then goes camping. Whilst I am jealous of the three nights in splendour, I think I'll be grateful to stay home. Reading about him and others.
Enid Blyton & Brownsea Island
Here's today's good read, which I enjoyed, about the island immortalised by Enid Blyton in her books about the Famous Five. It's Brownsea Island in Poole, Dorset. It has red squirrels.
Okay. I'll watch a video of red squirrels. I have foxes and grey squirrels in London.
Singapore Wildlife - Starting With Snakes
In Singapore, after seeing the snakes in the first six months, for the next thirty years I was cautious and never saw a snake. I lived in a high rise.
My husband went running in the jungle..He saw snakes regularly. He entusiastically approached them with his camera.
Whilst his retreating companion shouted to him, "Back off!"
Larger than snakes are the crocodiles in the sea. And the komodo dragons on land.
He also had a video of a hissing, long tongued, dragon, like a crocodile. Not a komodo dragon, from Indonesia, but the common or garden kind you get in Singapore in the Botanical Gardens - roaming freely.
It was behind a chain link fence, the height of a tennis court, outside the Ministry of Defence buildings, inside their grounds, behind a chain link fence. I don't think the monster was an official part of the defence. They had signs warning about soldiers with machines guns, but no warning signs saying, beware of the dragon.
At home, we were protected by a team of gardeners and security personnel who walked or cycled about.
American Wildlife\
I saw snakes in America. On trails through national parks. Forget that idea that snakes scuttle away. These were laying across the paths. warning signs were every few yards.
London Wildlife
I already have more wildlife in my life than I need. I had a nasty insect bite. I slept in pyjamas in summer heat for a fortnight. (For the enlightenment of any Chinese readers who don't knw the word Fortnight, it's short for fourteen nights, and days. It means two weeks It's a British everyday expression.)
Other Blyton Locations
You can see a plaque to Enid Blyton in south London.
A model of a house connected to her is in Beaconsfield Model Village in Buckingham shire, a short trip from London.
Should you be in Singapore and want to see a Komodo dragon at a safe distance, investigate what can be seen at the zoo. More are in zoos around the world, in the UK and USA at the Bronx zoo, the Smithsonian in DC and several more places.
Useful Websites
Recapturing the joys and sorrows of camping, famous five style.
Video of Brownsea Island
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/brownsea-island?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Enid_Blyton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon
https://www.slow-travel.uk/post/historic-writers-houses-you-can-visit-in-england
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