The Island Magic
It is difficult to sum up exactly what it is about Lundy that makes so many people fall under its spell. There is an almost indiscernible magical quality that seems to pervade the senses almost as soon as you set foot ashore, which varies in intensity from person to person. A holiday here gives the opportunity to totally relax and unwind, away from pressures of mainland life, and be busy doing absolutely nothing.
Getting to Lundy
There are two ways of getting to Lundy, depending upon the season of travel. During the summer months (April to October) visitors are carried on the island's own vessel, MS Oldenburg (affectionately known as the Old and Buggered), which sails from both Bideford and Ilfracombe. Sailings are usually three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with Wednesday as well during July and August. The voyage takes on average 2 hours, depending on ports, tides and weather. Sailings from Ilfracombe are usually slightly faster, as it can take considerable time to cross Bideford Bar and reach the open sea.
The ship is fully equipped with a small shop, information centre, buffet and bar, and has both indoor and outdoor seating. Smoking is permitted only on the open decks in accordance with the new regulations which come into effect on July 1st, 2007. All staying visitors must book tickets well in advance, as the fact that you have paid for accommodation does not automatically entitle you to this. During the summer months, especially on Saturdays, you will also be competing for space from day trippers.
On arrival at the island, visitors disembark on the new jetty, built partly from Lottery funding. The steep walk up to the village then begins. The Lundy brochure describes this as a gentle stroll, which is not at all how I would describe it. It seems that no matter how many times I visit the island, I still arrive at the village red in the face and out of breath! This is no doubt exacerbated by the fact that I am carrying extra clothing and provisions for the journey, and my first few hours on the island. This is necessary though, as it can be cold at sea. Also, at busy times it can be several hours before visitors are reunited with their luggage. It is therefore prudent to carry any essential supplies with you. Tea, coffee and UHT milk are normally available in each property though, should you wish to make a hot drink while you wait. All luggage is safely carried in the hold aboard MS Oldenburg, and then transferred to a tractor and trailer for transportation to your property.
During the winter months, (November to March) the Oldenburg comes out of service, and the island is served instead by a scheduled helicopter service from Hartland Point. The helicopter operates on both Mondays and Fridays, with flying between 11 am and 2pm, making it ideal for weekend visits and short breaks. Although much quicker (an average of 7 minutes flying time), arriving by helicopter is not without its potential problems. As the helicopter holds a maximum of 7 passengers, at busy times it can take considerable time to get everyone across. Those passengers who are scheduled to travel on the first helicopter across are normally put on the last one coming back. One person sits next to the pilot, whilst the remaining six are crammed into the cabin behind. Travelling alone as I always do automatically puts you at an advantage for the front seat, the view from which is pretty amazing, giving you a totally different perspective of the island.
The heliport is basically a field at the top of Hartland Point, not far from the Beacon. It consists essentially of a shed, with tea urn and separate toilet. The café at Hartland Point is kept open on flying days for visitors, serving the usual hot drinks and home bakes. Parking is provided at the public car park a five minute walk from the heliport and costs in the region of £1.50 per day. This is of course though subject to change.
Please note there is a strict baggage allowance of 10 kilos per passenger for the helicopter, and 20 kilos by boat. The literature says that all bags are weighed on arrival at the port and excess baggage (currently £5 per 5 kilos of part thereof) charged to your account at the Marisco Tavern. In practise though, this only ever happens at the heliport. This makes life somewhat difficult for those, like me, with special dietary needs who have to take provisions with them, but cannot unfortunately be avoided. You can of course order goods in advance from the shop, but past experience has shown that they are unlikely to be able to obtain such specialist requirements. Provided you let the Shore Office know in advance, then it is usually possible to take these items free of charge, as long as they are packed in a seperate bag and clearly labelled as special dietary needs.
Entrance to Lundy is free for all those who arrive by scheduled transport. However, as the island is owned by the National Trust, visitors arriving by other means, including their own boats and light aircraft, will be charged a small entrance fee, currently £3.50. A seperate landing charge of around £10 is also charged to those using light aircraft. If you are staying on Lundy, and do not arrive by scheduled transport, you will also be charged for carrying your luggage to the top of the island. Full details and up to date prices are available from the Island Office on 01237 431831.
On the rare occasions (mostly spring and autumn) when the Oldenburg is unable to sail due to adverse weather conditions, the Landmark Trust will endeavour to arrange alternative helicopter transportation, at subsided rate (at the time of writing, £20) and also meet the cost of extra night's accommodation for visitors who are unable to leave the island. For regular visitors to the island, it is inevitable that this will happen sooner or later. In my case, it has so far happened just twice, in November 2003, when the helicopter was unable to fly due to dense fog, and 2 years later in 2005, when the island was covered in snow, a most unusual occurence.
If you do have to leave by helicopter rather than the scheduled boat service then the decision will often not be made until literally the last minute. This is due to the high cost of chartering the helicopter at £1150 an hour, plus the fact that this inevitably means refunding tickets purchased by day trippers, with the resultant loss of income. The helicopter will though take you back to Hartland where a bus will usually then transport you back to your port of origin, once everyone is safely across. This can then necessitate a lot of hanging around, either on Lundy, is one is scheduled on a later helicopter, or worse on Hartland itself. Of course you can always go for further walks while you wait, but make sure you are back at the Marisco Tavern at least 20 minutes before your published flying time.
Occasionally sailings also have to be changed to a different port, due to changing tides or conditions at the ports themselves (this has happened to me twice) but Landmark will always endeavour to telephone you in advance and warn you of this, so that you can make the necessary arrangements. Make sure that they have your mobile telephone number, and remember to check for messages at regular intervals throughout your journey, since it would not be a good idea to leave it on whilst driving. Remember, you can now receive three penalty points if caught using a hand held mobile telephone whilst driving.
For those arriving or departing the island at the changeover point between scheduled helicopter and/or boat then Landmark will usually bus you or from wherever your car has been left, provided you let them know that this is required, so that they can arrange the right sized vehicle. If then for example you go to the island by helicopter but depart by boat then Landmark will bus you to Hartland from Bideford on the outer leg.
