The Island of Lundy - A. Langham

Now managed by the Landmark Trust, Lundy lies in the Bristol Channel 23 miles to the west of Ilfracombe. Isolated, it has remained for the most part a moorland wilderness and has escaped the inroads of development that have encroached elsewhere. Yet today Lundy is visited by boatloads of visitors throughout the summer, lured there by its extraordinary history and plentiful wildlife. The Island of Lundy, the successor to the author's previous account of the islands, provides a wide-ranging and in-depth survey of its history, geology and daily life. The first human habitation of Lundy was during the Paleolithic age, with later arrivals from the European mainland bringing with them a knowledge of agriculture and skill in the working of stone. Archaeological treasures of these early inhabitants have been discovered in recent years, including a Bronze Age settlement and a unique Dark Age cemetery. In medieval times the island was at war with the mainland, but it retained it independence under the Ormonde family. Later it came to the Grenville family, but after the Civil War the island came under the jurisdiction of James I. Its subsequent history reflects the political and religious turmoil of the period, and tales of pirates and shipwrecks abound. In the nineteenth century, again under privates ownership, the commercial development of the island was begun and it began to attract visitors, and in 1969 it was sold to the National Trust. Today, the island provides modern facilities for its visitors, and this guide to the island also describes what can be seen today, its climate and cultivation, flora and fauna. This new book has been written by long-time Secretary of the Lundy Field Society, and now one of its Vice-Presidents. Illustrated with over 70 black and white line drawings and contemporary photographs, it will be welcomed by those who lie in the region as well as by the island's many visitors.