Lundy

Lundy

Lundy, small island in the Bristol Channel, 11 miles (18 km) off the north coast of the county of Devon, southwestern England. Mainly composed of granite, with high cliffs (notably Shutter Rock at the southwestern end), Lundy reaches a summit of 466 feet (142 metres) and has an area of 1.5 square miles (4 square km). The exception to granite composition lies in the southeast, where Devonian slates have weathered to give the one landing cove. This is sheltered by Rat Island, on which the once-common black rat survives. Lundy lends its name to a weather-forecasting area that extends to the Scilly Isles and the southeastern tip of Ireland. The puffin and many other seabirds breed on Lundy.

Long a base for privateers and smugglers, Lundy was owned by the British crown from 1150 until 1647, when it was sold to Lord Saye and Sele. The church was built in 1896 by the Heaven family, owners of Lundy from 1836 to 1918. Lundy was acquired by the National Trust in 1969. The name is from the Norse lunde, meaning “puffin.”