Wessex Basin

Green Island is an island in Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. It lies in the central south part of the harbour, south of Brownsea Island and Furzey Island. The island is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and Special Protection Area (SPA).

Furzey Island is an island in Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. The island lies to the south of the larger Brownsea Island. Seen from the water, or adjoining land, the island looks like another wild pineclad island. However, hidden in the trees are twenty-two oil wells split into 2 well-sites for the Wytch Farm Oil Field, which is linked by pipeline to Hamble on Southampton Water. The rarely seen tall oil rig can sometimes be a big landmark of Southern Poole Harbour and the main landmark between Brownsea and Furzey. The well-sites are staffed 24 hours a day. Furzey Island lies within the civil parish of Corfe Castle. The parish forms part of the Dorset (formerly Purbeck local government district).

Round Island is an island in Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. It lies just off the shore of the Arne Peninsula in the south-west of the harbour, and is separated from the nearby uninhabited Long Island by a narrow channel only a few feet wide.The island is 15 acres in size, being a private property with a mix of grassy paddocks and woodland. Round Island lies within the civil parish of Corfe Castle. The parish was formerly part of the Purbeck local government district,but now forms part of Dorset Council.

Rempstone Stone Circle (grid reference SY994820) is a stone circle located near to Corfe Castle on the Isle of Purbeck in the south-western English county of Dorset. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age. The Rempstone ring is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread throughout much of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, over a period between 3,300 and 900 BC. The purpose of such monuments is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that they were likely religious sites, with the stones perhaps having supernatural associations for those who built the circles. Local folklore holds that the stones arrived in their position after being thrown at Corfe Castle by the Devil. A number of these circles were built in the area around modern Dorset, typically being smaller than those found elsewhere. Most of these Dorset circles are made of sarsen stone, although the Rempstone circle is unique in being made from local sandstone. The southern half of the circle has been destroyed, with five upright and three recumbent stones remaining extant. Having been damaged by eighteenth century clay workings, the monument is at present situated within dense woodland. In 1957, a possible avenue of stones leading to the circle was discovered by ploughing but subsequently removed.

Long Island is an uninhabited island in Poole Harbour in the English county of Dorset. It lies just off the shore of the Arne Peninsular in the south-west of the harbour, and is separated from the nearby, and inhabited, Round Island by a narrow channel only a few feet wide. The island covers approximately 30 acres at low tide, reducing to only 9.5 acres (38,000 m2) at high tide. Long Island lies within the civil parish of Corfe Castle. The parish forms part of the Purbeck local government district.Long Island had been privately owned by the Rempstone Estate for over 250 years but in 2007 it was closed to the public and put up for sale with offers invited in excess of £1 million. The sale was initially delayed by a rights of way application made by pleasure boat owners who feared the new landlords would deny public access to the island. However the application was dismissed by Dorset County Council in 2009 and the island was sold in 2010 for an estimated £3 million to a local property developer.On 24 August 1943, a Royal Air Force Consolidated Catalina (FP287) was on a training flight & was landing at Poole Seaplane Base. The aircraft overshot the landing path during the second flare then attempted a go-ground, soon after crashed into sea next to the island. Eight of the Twelve crew died in the crash.

The Brownsea Island Scout camp was the site of a boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England, organised by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Boys from different social backgrounds participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. The event is regarded as the origin of the worldwide Scout movement. Up to the early 1930s, Boy Scouts continued to camp on Brownsea Island. In 1963, a formal 50-acre (20 ha) Scout campsite was opened by Olave Baden-Powell when the island became a nature conservation area owned by the National Trust. In 1973, a Scout Jamboree with six hundred Scouts was held on the island. The worldwide centenary of Scouting took place at the Brownsea Island Scout camp, celebrated on 1 August 2007, the 100th anniversary of the start of the first encampment. Activities by The Scout Association at the campsite included four Scout camps and a Sunrise Ceremony.

Brenscombe Heath (grid reference SY985829) is a 34.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Corfe Castle, Dorset, notified in 1985.

Maryland is a deserted village on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. It was named for the wife of its founder, Colonel William Petrie Waugh.The village was established in the mid-19th century to house workers for a new pottery industry (Branksea Clay & Pottery Company) on the island. The supposed deposit of high quality china clay proved to be unsuitable for porcelain, and the drainage pipes and chimney pots that were produced were not financially viable. The Waughs were forced into bankruptcy.Maryland's people stayed on the island after the closure of the pottery, farming and working on the estate of the island's new owners; daffodil fields were a particular feature. In 1927, Mrs Mary Bonham-Christie bought the island and closed down much of its employment; the redundant workers moved to the mainland, and the village was finally abandoned in the same year.During the Second World War II decoy lights were set nearby to divert German bombers from Poole and Bournemouth. The village was largely destroyed, and the ruins subsequently demolished.

Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow (average depth 48 cm [19 in]), with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay.Poole Harbour has an area of approximately 36 km2 (14 sq mi). It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world" (after Port Jackson, Sydney).

The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles (48 km) long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.

Wytch Farm is an oil field and processing facility in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. It is the largest onshore oil field in western Europe. The facility, taken over by Perenco in 2011, was previously operated by BP. It is located in a coniferous forest on Wytch Heath on the southern shore of Poole Harbour, two miles (3.2 km) north of Corfe Castle. Oil and natural gas (methane) are both exported by pipeline; liquefied petroleum gas is exported by road tanker.

Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck. The island was the location of an experimental camp in 1907 that led to the formation of the Scout movement the following year. Access is by public ferry or private boat; in 2017 the island received 133,340 visitors. The island's name probably comes from Anglo-Saxon Brūnoces īeg = "Brūnoc's island".