We last came to Lundy by ferry from Ilfracombe. The trip took two hours and by the time we rounded Hartland Point the Atlantic waves had arrived and about 50% of the passengers started vomiting.
This time the MS Oldenburg has its annual maintenance, so myself and a group of six friends are whisked to the island in a small helicopter from the north-west tip of Devon in seven minutes. I don’t miss vomiting, but I do regret not having the sense of temporary adjustment to what has been a slightly different world for most of its history.
Three miles long and about half a mile wide, Lundy borders the Bristol Channel and the Atlantic. It is one of the gateways to the otherworldly realm of Annwn, also known as Avalon in Gaelic mythology. Located 11 miles off the Devon coast and often hidden by fog, this area has captured the imagination of mainlanders for centuries. Its history can be summarized here as a series of eccentrics, ranging from the murderous to the more benign, who attempted to establish small empires.
The geography of the island – dramatically twisted granite cliffs over 100 meters high – evokes a sense of impregnability. There is only one landing point near the rocky bay called the Devil’s Kitchen. In the early 1600s Moroccan pirates used Lundy as a base to raid West Country ports. A century later, a tobacco smuggler and duplicitous congressman named Thomas Benson brought convicts here from the mainland to use as his personal slaves.
In 1836, the island was purchased by William Hudson Heaven with money he received in exchange for the emancipation of enslaved people on his plantation in Jamaica. Ironically, given this history, he declared it a “free island.” He also built a large Anglican church and mined granite from the cliffs. Lundy was jokingly called the Kingdom of Heaven.
Conversation is easy in the tavern, and people’s common isolation gives them a sense of camaraderie
A later owner, Martin Coles Harman, also declared himself king and was sued for issuing his own currency in the form of the Half Puffin and One Puffin coins. It was eventually donated to the Lundy National Trust in 1969. The massive granite houses that form the single village have been restored by the Landmark Trust, which still manages them, and the island’s “permanent” population – currently 28 – is largely used to service these properties for visitors like us.
Most people come to Lundy on a day trip, but we choose to stay five nights. Three miles on a rock may seem like a long time, but the island is a world unto itself; It soon becomes difficult to leave its loneliness and wildness, and the mainland becomes more and more distant.
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There are 25 properties to choose from, from remote, off-grid Tibbetts to old guard quarters at the old lighthouse. There is also a bunkhouse and camping area for warm weather. We’re staying at Old House South, which used to be part of a manor house. It’s cozy yet elegant, with beautiful rugs, a wood-burning stove, and shelves full of well-published books. We cook most of our meals here – the village shop has good stuff – but we treat ourselves to a few pub grub at the Marisco Tavern next door.
The tavern is the point around which Lundy’s (human) life revolves. Its walls are hung with lifebelts from the many ships that have been shipwrecked on its shores: Taxiarchis, Maria Kyriakides, Kaaksburg, Blue Merlin. It’s also a community center and information center, and several times a week head warden Joe Parker gives free talks about the island’s ecology. Besides its wild human history, what makes Lundy extraordinary is its wilderness.
In 2010 Lundy became the UK’s first marine conservation area, with the east coast protected from all forms of fishing. It has a resident population of 180 Atlantic gray seals, which usually gather around the pier where the Oldenburg arrives, and dolphins, porpoises, basking sharks and even the occasional minke whale also visit these waters. The seas here dot the northern range of rare cold-water corals, including the pink sea fan, which can grow up to half a metre. The island’s rocks are important breeding grounds for nearly 40,000 endangered seabirds worldwide.
In his speech, Joe tells us that things weren’t always this way. Twenty years ago Lundy was infested with black and brown rats whose voracious egg-eating habits were devastating the seabird population. The island is famous for its seagulls. Lund-ey It is Old Norse for Puffin Island – but in 2001 only five individuals were recorded there and the species was in danger of extinction. Manx shearwaters, which migrate from the tip of South America, were also endangered, as were gannets, kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills and fulmars. The culling of rats was controversial, but it was either the birds or them. Following an eradication campaign, the island was declared rat-free in 2006.
There has been a dramatic increase in the seabird population. In 2023, the number of gulls increased from five to 1,335, and the number of shearwaters increased from 297 breeding pairs to over 12,000. A large part of the island is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest; it is also home to pygmy shrews, more than 500 species of mushrooms and the endemic Lundy sprout. But Joe and others are campaigning for Special Protected Area (SPA) status to protect seabirds’ foraging grounds and flight paths. He says this is necessary for their long-term protection. Meanwhile, guards and rangers regularly patrol the cliffs and check bait stations for signs of rodent recolonization. Rats hiding on ships can swim several miles, so Lundy can never let his guard down, but for now the seagulls lay their eggs in peace.
They are preparing to do just that when we see them through the cliff-top telescope set up by a volunteer at Jenny’s Cove. At first the birds appear as bright white stones scattered down a grassy slope, but when the lens focuses, they leap into sharp relief. As it is early April these are among the first breeding pairs to reach the British Isles; They will return to the open Atlantic after July. The awareness of how close they are to extinction further increases the pleasure and privilege of watching them; It is much smaller than we imagined, but indescribably enjoyable.
It’s a stormy day, with winds so strong they almost blow us off our feet. Despite the weather conditions, we ventured north to the Halfway Wall, one of the three dry stone walls that divide the island. South of the Quarter Wall lies the human realm of tavern and church, which already feels worlds away. North of the Three Quarter Wall are cliffs and crashing waves. Here and there there are Highland cows, Lundy ponies, Sika deer and Soay sheep huddled against the wind; all have been introduced in the last 100 years. They are much less damaging than mice, but they are still numerous: Joe is vegan on the mainland but eats lamb and venison here; “organic, completely free-range and no fly-by”. The Soay breed originates from St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides and is the closest breed to sheep from the Neolithic age. Humans arrived on Lundy at least 10,000 years ago, so it’s not impossible that the early inhabitants kept hardy herds similar to those that roam today.
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The unique magic of this island lies in its blend of sociability with solitude. Conversation is easy in the tavern, and people’s collective isolation gives them a sense of camaraderie. No wonder visitors return and year-round residents (guards, cleaners, bar staff) stay for an average of five years. It takes a certain type. And yet, despite the permanence of granite cliffs and huts, everyone eventually leaves, as always. The Mariscos, the Heavens, and the Harmans resisted for decades, but they all vanished like extinct seabirds. Only nature is permanent here, and even that (ask the seagulls) is vulnerable. Lundy’s appointment as SPA could make a difference.
Accommodation start date in Lundy: £276 Four nights for two at Castle Keep North; camping £48 per person. Day trips with ferry fee £52 adult, £27 child (4-15), under 4 free