Lambay Island

Lambay is the largest island off Ireland's east coast and has been owned by the Baring family since 1904, who commissioned Edwin Lutyens to remodel the castle and lay out the gardens. It is farmed, with its own cattle herd, and it holds one of the larger seabird populations in the Irish Sea - guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags and puffins - along with a grey seal colony. The oddity is the wallabies: a small group came from Dublin Zoo in the 1950s and 80s when the zoo had a surplus, and they bred and established themselves on the island's grassland, which is now home to more red-necked wallabies than most places outside Australia. It is private land throughout. Landing is only by arranged tour with the estate, numbers are limited, and the boats do not run in poor weather.

History

The name comes from the Old Norse lamb ey, "lamb island", probably because ewes were sent there in spring to lamb safe from predators. Its Irish name, Reachrainn, is shared with Rathlin Island, and the village of Portrane facing it takes its name from Port Reachrann, "the port of Reachrainn" (Wikipedia, Lambay Island).

The landscape

• The seabird cliffs - among the largest colonies in the Irish Sea.
• The wallabies - descended from Dublin Zoo surplus animals.
• The grey seals - hauled out on the rocks around the island.
• The Lutyens work - the remodelled castle and gardens, from 1905 on.

When to go

May to September, when the seabirds are nesting and the tours run. Places are limited and book out; arrange well ahead. Crossings cancel in wind or swell.

Things to know

Private property - there is no right to land, and turning up by boat is not an option. Tours are limited in number and expensive. The wallabies are wild and not reliably seen. Weather cancels crossings at short notice.

Nearby

Rush and Skerries are on the mainland opposite; Howth is south.

Key facts