Lundy Island: How a micronation turned into a wildlife haven

Dolphins!”, exclaims a crewmember from beneath their mask as I fumble furiously on the swaying deck for my camera. Grey fins are cutting a path through the Bristol Channel, but the dolphins are too fast for me. “Don’t worry, they’ll be back”, says the crewmember confidently. “We even saw a Minke Whale on the crossing last week!”

MS Oldenburg is barely half an hour out of Ilfracombe Harbour on its journey to Lundy Island and already we’re encountering the local marine life. I shouldn’t really be surprised. The water surrounding this small island off the north Devon coastline has long been a favourite among divers and snorkellers, and, in 2010, Lundy became the UK’s first official Marine Conservation Zone.

It’s a two-hour voyage in calm seas from Ilfracombe to Lundy, a journey that the island’s dependable supply ship has been making for decades. MS Oldenburg ferries fresh tourists and fresh supplies every season from March until late October. Then when the sea becomes too rough, the island helicopter takes over transport duties.

Thanks to the pandemic though, MS Oldenburg was grounded for the bulk of this year's tourist season, leaving Lundy cut off from the mainland. With little time left until rough seas start pounding the channel again, the limited, socially-distanced seats on the boat are being bought up by eager tourists almost as soon as they are released each week.

The dolphins don’t return, but Lundy’s tall cliffs soon fill the view. The shoreline is devoid of trees, but this seemingly barren outlook betrays the fact that, on both land and sea, Lundy is a haven for wildlife. The Landmark Trust – which manages the island on behalf of the National Trust – goes as far as describing Lundy Island as "Britain’s own Galapagos".

There are puffins, Manx shearwaters, Peregrine falcons, not to mention feral Soay sheep, wild deer, goats and the rare Lundy pony. For wildlife lovers, there are few places left in the UK that can compete with Lundy when it comes to biodiversity.

Lundy is home to large seal colonies too. As the Oldenburg slows to enter the island’s only harbour, loud barks and roars drift over from the rocks, where members of Lundy’s resident seal population are lounging in the sun.

“Welcome to Lundy!” I’m greeted at Landing Bay by Jim Wilson, a silver-haired Lundy enthusiast who leads socially-distanced walking tours of the island on behalf of the Lundy Field Society, a volunteer-run organisation that aims to preserve Lundy’s nature and history. The society has a lot of work on its hands.

Lundy is just 3 miles long, but it has a surprisingly turbulent history. Today, the island makes for a peaceful, nature-filled escape from the mainland, but in the past it was home to marauding pirates, rebellious nobles, and most curiously of all, Britain’s first self-declared micronation.

From Landing Bay, it’s a steep uphill walk to Marisco Castle, a 13th-century island stronghold. I’m admiring the views over the harbour when Jim suddenly stops, looks through his binoculars, and points towards something hidden among the thick brush on the side of the cliffs.

“There, do you see it? Those little yellow flowers”, he says. “It’s a cabbage. Lundy cabbage”.  

I’m taken aback by Jim’s enthusiasm for cabbage, but this isn’t just any cabbage. “This is the only place in the world where Lundy cabbage grows,” Jim explains. “You won’t find it anywhere else, it’s a completely unique species."

Cabbage aside, I soon discover that Lundy has plenty more unique claims to fame as we reach Marisco Castle at the top of the cliffs. “The keep is called Marisco Castle”, says Jim. “But it was actually built by King Henry III to keep the Mariscos out”.

The once noble Marisco family had rebelled against the English king, raiding the Devonshire coastline from their base on Lundy Island in the 13th century.

“King Henry had to invade Lundy to stop them”, says Jim. “He captured the Mariscos, then built this castle to stop the family from ever taking Lundy back. William de Marisco, the head of the family, had the honour of being the first person in England to be hanged, drawn and quartered”.

Lundy would still prove to be ungovernable, with Barbary pirates using the island as a base in the 1600s and the Sheriff of Devon turning Lundy into his own illegal private prison in the 18th century.

The island's history is much longer than it takes to walk from Marisco Castle to Marisco Tavern, where Jim bows out for a deserved pint in the beer garden. The Marisco Tavern is Lundy’s only pub. The pub is located in the centre of The Village, the imaginative name for the island’s small community. There’s one shop, an over-sized church, a small museum, no paved roads or private vehicles, and a population that never exceeds more than 30 people at a time.  

Outside, the tavern is a dark blue post box labelled "Lundy Post". Here, the island’s modern history begins. Lundy is home to the world’s oldest private postal system and in the village stores, I buy a Lundy postcard and a Lundy stamp.

In the village museum, I learn that Lundy’s postal system was established in 1929 by Martin Coles Harman. An eccentric millionaire, Harman bought the island outright and took Lundy’s rebellious streak to new heights when he declared himself the King of Lundy. Harman also declared that his island was “a self-governing dominion of the British Empire”, the same status awarded to Canada and Australia at the time.

Lundy would prove to be the precursor to later self-declared micronations, such as the Principality of Sealand, even if Harman never used the term micronation himself. As well as setting up a postal system, which is still in service today (and yes, I can confirm that postcards do safely reach their destination on the mainland), Harman began minting his own coins, establishing an island currency named "Puffins".

Lundy’s "King" also laid the groundwork for sustainable tourism, encouraging visitors to tour through his small kingdom and establishing his beloved Lundy Field Society, the same society that my guide Jim, alongside hundreds more volunteers, belongs to. Harman’s love of wildlife led to the preservation of many of Lundy’s unique species, including the Lundy cabbage and the Lundy Pony.

But starting your own country is never a profitable initiative, and Harman’s descendants were forced to sell the island in 1969. It ended up in the care of both the National Trust and the Landmark Trust. While Harman’s plans for an independent micronation were quickly dropped, his conservation work and tourism initiatives continue to this day.

After posting my Lundy postcard and enjoying a cold pint and a hot pastie at the Marisco Tavern, I only have time to climb the old lighthouse for a quick panoramic view of the island before heading back to MS Oldenburg.

With Lundy’s campsite closed due to Covid-19 and with all of the historic accommodation options – you can stay at the old Marisco Castle if you get lucky – sold out for the night, I’m sailing back to Ilfracombe earlier than I’d like.

If I was staying, then in the morning I’d be snorkelling with seals on the calm eastern side of the island before searching out shipwrecks on the wild western Atlantic side. There’s bird-watching, rock climbing, kayaking, hiking and of course, there’s always lots of beer to be drunk at the Marisco Tavern.  

For myself and the rest of the day-trippers though, it’s back on the supply ship for a classic British end to a summer outing. As MS Oldenburg leaves Lundy, the clouds break and the open upper deck is drenched in rain. Below deck, all that’s left in the galley are buckets of hand sanitiser and a few cold cheese and onion pasties. I should have stayed on Lundy.

Ms Oldenburg sails several times per week to Lundy Island from either Ilfracombe or Bideford. A same-day return ticket cost £42 per adult. Overnight accommodation options on the island need to be booked in advance. Sailings take place between March and October, and in winter, visitors can only reach Lundy Island by helicopter.  

For more information on departure dates and accommodation options on Lundy Island, and to book, visit the Landmark Trust website.