Another sunny day today, for most of the time. It was my afternoon with the reception class who are always lovely to teach. It was time for a music lesson, so every child had an instrument and 28 of us marched around the playground singing and making lots of music. It was fun but VERY noisy. In the morning I painted one side of the bedroom door with white gloss paint. A very satisfying job to do as it looks so new and clean. Tomorrow I will turn the door over and paint the other side. Then it will be a matter of rehanging it. Unlike the Victorian pine doors we had in our house in London the doors are not on rising butts and normal hinges have a tendency work loose from the door frame especially when there are teenagers around. The house is very quiet as Romas has gone down to Bude for a few days but next weekend everybody will be coming here for an airsoft weekend. Gemma and I plan to go off on some photography trips. Having such beautiful surroundings I have been only taking local photos on my way to work etc. Apart from the Lundy photos everything has been within 10 miles of home.
Now for ...... Lundy , part 2 ... Arrival and Buildings.
The island is 31/2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. It is a granite outcrop that forms a flat plateau above steep cliffs. The majority of the buildings are in a little settlement at one end of the plateau. Here you can see the church to the left and the Tavern and other farm buildings to the right. The path from the jetty climbs up through a gully in the cliff,(in the centre of the photo).
Looking towards the northern point of the island. The cliffs on the western side of the island are much steeper. The sea around the island is a maritime reserve and basking sharks are common though we didn't see any that day.
Looking down from half-way up the cliff at the landing stage and the Oldenburg. There are no cars on the island , just a couple of tractors for transporting goods and equipment.
Halfway up the gully is the 'owners house' which has much more protection from the weather than the buildings up on the top. This is now one of the many properties that can be rented as holiday accommodation. It is quite a long walk up from the landing stage to this point.
This is the church, all the buildings have a very Italianate, square cut look due to being built from granite quarried on the island. There are almost no trees on the island.
The main lighthouse in the windswept centre of the island. On a clear day it is possible to see, with binoculars, the silhouettes of the lighthouse and the church from Putsborough Beach.
The smaller fields nearer the settlement have granite walls which provide some protection from the constant wind.
An entrance to one of the barns.
The Marisco Tavern and hotel with the church behind. Originally they brewed their own beer but there isn't a good supply of water on the island and now beer is shipped in on the Oldenburg. It is very cosy in the tavern with shelves of paperbacks and board games as well as a 'wildlife sighting' book for the divers, birdwatchers and other visitors to record the wildlife they have seen. I can imagine that after the day trippers have left it must be a special atmosphere with just the people renting the holiday cottages, visiting sailors and some campers (mostly climbers) and the island workers in the tavern.Next time ..... amazing scenery and some wildlife.
