I had been a holidaymaker visiting Croyde in North Devon, for many years, with a group of four mad mums and eventually 9 children. We all met when our first child was born. 18 years ago now. That makes for very special friendships. But also makes for VERY busy holidays! Memories of struggles across deep sand, in August, with buggies/bodyboards/packed lunches/windbreaks and mallets (the list goes on!), whilst heavily pregnant and in a hail storm. Yes, it happened…this is North Devon! But what fantastic holidays they were.

All the while, Lundy had sat quietly, peacefully across the sea. I barely gave it a thought. But as my Summer breaks turned to a life lived on Exmoor, I took chances to visit North Devons beaches out of the holiday season. On wild, windy days with a dog(or few) chasing into the waves, and angry clouds charging across the sky, I began to notice Lundy, appearing and disappearing on the horizon. After a few abandoned attempts to visit. Cancellations to the boat trip due to poor weather can be common. Finally, in August, our boat chugged out of Ilfracombe harbour.

The M.S Oldenburg is the supply and passenger vessel for Lundy, and takes less than two hours to reach the Island, which is 11 miles from our coastline. Tickets collected and the boat boarded, we took a seat inside. It was a cold start to the day and already the smell of frying bacon drew little gasps of anticipation from my companions, My Farmer, excited small daughter, and two dear visiting relatives. Gently rocking our way out of the pretty harbour, we passed Damien Hirst’s controversial statue of ‘Verity’. If you’re going to make a statement you may as well make a big one! It seems to have achieved something of what it was intended for, attracting interest. It’s certainly interesting, but I’m glad I don’t have it obstructing my view when I open the curtains in the morning.

I was very lucky the day we travelled as the sea was extremely calm. Even so , it appears I suffer from seasickness! Wow, that felt like a long journey. Never have I been keener to get to my destination, and I’ve braved the Devon Link road on a holiday change over day! As we gently pulled alongside the jetty, Atlantic Grey seals could be seen basking in the sunshine on the rocks around the bay. Peaceful and unconcerned by the arrival of 267 passengers.

One thing we had not accounted for was the climb up from the harbour to the village and footpaths. Of course, it was to have been expected, but we hadn’t fully realised that this would be quite a hike for the party members in their 70’s with a few health problems! Luckily we managed to flag down the islands passing Land Rover and squeeze the strugglers in with the islanders luggage. When we finally reached the village ourselves, they were happily soaking up some sunshine on a bench outside Lundy’s watering hole, The Marisco Tavern. Drama over and all happy, we settled down to enjoy a glass of cider and breathe in tranquillity.

It’s very evident that the Landmark trust, who maintains Lundy, is doing a fantastic job. The restoration of the domestic buildings, the church, the Old Light and all the stone walls dissecting the island is first class. Having picked up a map and an activity book for Martha, we decided to head West out of the village towards the ‘Old Light’. Built in 1819 it was abandoned when Lundy North, and South lighthouses were built, after finding that being the tallest lighthouse in England, at 567 feet above sea level, made it too high to be seen when there were low clouds. If you can manage the climb, you will(on a clear day)have wonderful views over Lundy and towards Wales and North Devon.

We also discovered the Old Light has excellent acoustics. Martha sang her latest favourite song for us (with Grandma watching), only interrupted when other visitors, drawn inside by the sweet voice, brought on a rare case of shyness!

Leaving Grandma and Mike to their stroll, the three of us continued along the West Sideland and over Ackland’s Moor towards The Battery, which was a fog signalling station built in 1863. A cannon was fired every 10 minutes in fog. The two cannons can still be seen, but the building itself is a ruin. Passing The Quarter Wall we headed towards Dead Cow Point. I love some of these names! As the boat enters the Landing Beach you can see Mouse and Rat Islands to your left. Great comic images spring to mind!! But also some of the stories behind the names are fascinating. History brought to life.

(Continued…)

It was around Jenny’s Cove and The Cheeses that Martha found the Soay sheep. This caused a bit of a fuss as Daddy Farmer actually saw them first. This is a very competitive family! Another tick in the box in Martha’s ‘Wild Explorer Guide’. We cut across the island, in front of The Halfway Wall, and turned towards the village back in the direction of the boat. Finding the beautiful Highland cattle near the water at Pondsbury and Lundys own breed of pony by The Old Hospital, I felt a little disappointed that there wasn’t enough time to explore the island and it’s inhabitants more. Time on the island is restricted by the return sailing times, which are also dictated by the tides. You would have to seriously race on to make it to the far end of the island at North West Point, and get back in time to sail for home.

North West Point is where the puffins nest between April and July. They spend the rest of the year out at sea. ‘Lund-ey’ is Norse for Puffin Island. How had I not known that before! We enquired about returning for an overnight stay in one of the various cottages, as that seems the only way to take the time to truly experience the islands tranquillity, especially in August with all the other visitors embarking at the same time. Maybe My Farmer and I will do that one day.

Boarding The Oldenburg for the return journey we were all tired and very happy. The sun was still shining down on us and reflecting off the calm sea…and no green faced passenger on the way home! Martha and I sat up on deck watching Lundy disappear towards the horizon again. It had been a fantastic family day. A little bit of something special for everyone, and time together. It couldn’t have been more perfect…and then the dolphins started jumping. Heaven.

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