Lundy Island

Lundy is five kilometres long and about a kilometre wide, a slab of granite rising to 143 metres with cliffs on all sides, held by the Landmark Trust since 1969 and owned by the National Trust. Around twenty-eight people live there. The name is Norse for puffin island, and puffins had almost gone by 2000, down to a handful of pairs after centuries of rat predation; an eradication programme completed in 2006 removed the rats and the population has since climbed past a thousand birds. In 1986 the waters became England's first statutory marine nature reserve, in 2003 they gained the UK's first statutory No Take Zone, and in 2010 Lundy became Britain's first Marine Conservation Zone, and lobster and scallop numbers inside it have measurably recovered. The island issues its own puffin stamps, required alongside British postage. There is one pub, one shop and no cars.

The landscape

• The puffin colony - recovered past a thousand birds after rat eradication.
• The No Take Zone - the UK's first statutory one, set up in 2003, with visible recovery in shellfish.
• The granite cliffs - climbing routes and seabird ledges on all sides.
• The island stamps - puffin postage required in addition to British stamps.

When to go

April to mid-July for puffins, which leave by late July; the Oldenburg sails from late March to October and a helicopter runs in winter. Sailings are cancelled in swell and the crossing is frequently rough.

Good to know

The crossing takes two hours in open water and is often uncomfortable; sailings are cancelled without much notice. Day trips give only about four hours ashore. Accommodation is in Landmark Trust properties booked far ahead. There is no mains electricity around the clock and phone signal is poor.

Nearby

Bideford and Ilfracombe are the mainland ports; the North Devon coast lies south.

Key facts