Lundy

I wanted to get as many of the photos I took last year up before going away and taking loads more over the next few weeks, so the Lundy ones are here. I think after we get back from Scilly I'm going to do a full list of the island's we've been to, and start a counter to formalise the process, cos I like things to be tidy, but here is Lundy...

Very early start, with me, Liam and other Liam on board, must have been about six for the drive to Bideford, joined the MS Oldenburg in her berth alongside the quay and set off along the estuary to meet the open sea at Appledore.

 The waters here got a lot more choppy as the Taw and Torridge rivers collide, and pretty much from this point on it was sick bags at the ready for the majority of the two hundred or so passengers. After about two hours we arrived at the landing slipway on Lundy and disembarked

Lundy is a pretty cool place, and a great little island. At 12 miles from the mainland it's far enough away to feel isolated and remote, and this has led to a fascinating history of piracy and intrigue. I'd bought and read the book "The Island of Lundy" by A F Langham before we went, I'd definitely recommend it if you want to get a better understanding of it's past. 

We decided with the three and a half hours exploring time that we should go for a full circumnavigation of the island, which meant not a great deal of time for inspecting everything in minute detail, but we got a pretty good overview.

We started to the south of the island, and after climbing up the track to the top of the island, with fantastic views down to the bay with tiny rat island (which we didn't get to) and the boat at mooring, we passed stately Millcombe house and then rose to the plateau shrouded in mist. In Lundy as everywhere else, religion has pervaded in the past, and St Helena's church is an impressive landmark, standing as it does among a field of sheep and thistles. The final major landmark at this end of the island is the ancient stronghold of Marisco Castle, built by Henry III in an effort to deter the lawless pirates resident on Lundy in the time of his reign.

After this we headed North up the Western side of the island, past the old light, and the area excellently known as "Earthquake", where geological formations have left the earth pitted and uneven, but I don't think it's anything to do with an actual earthquake. From here it's a fair slog to the Northern end of the island, where there is a lighthouse set down in the cliffs, and excellent views out over the channel.

With time against us we thought we would take a short cut scrambling through some ferns on the Eastern side of the island, which turned out to be quite a poor idea, as within a couple of minutes we were five or six feet deep in dense undergrowth and needed to cross quite a deep valley to get back to the path, but it did add an element of adventure to the trip! 

After such excitement some refreshment was required, and so after trekking back past the threequarter, halfway and quarter walls that cross the island where you would expect them to, and past the buildings and machinery of Lundy's seemingly successful sheep farm, we repaired to the wonderfully welcoming and less windswept Marisco Tavern for some cider and chips. It had just started to rain and the boat was leaving soon, so it seemed everyone else on the island had followed suit, but we managed to get a table and take in the huge array of Lundy memorabilia and nostalgia that adorned the walls staircase. 

So that was it, time to head back down the road to the beach, jump on the boat, this time to Ilfracombe due to the tide being out at Bideford (and as a side note I carried a kayak up the Torridge from Appledore to Bideford in low tide a few weeks ago, and it gets very very low!), get a bus back to the car and drive back up to Bristol.

It was, to be fair, a lot of travelling, around eight hours for three and a half exploring, but as a world away from home, with a lot of surprises and loads to learn, Lundy was worth it. maybe we'll go back, once we've done all the rest of course!

Liam and Liam in the bar of the Oldenburg on the much calmer trip back to port