t uMia- ' iujio juur >. 



XXXviii LUNDY ISLAND. 



island were quite dissimilar from those of the north coast of 

 Devon and Cornwall,, but were very like those of the south coast 

 of Wales. The island lies N.N.W. by S.S.E., contains about 

 1200 acres, is nearly three miles long by a mile broad, and con- 

 sisting almost entirely of granite, rises from 300 to 500 feet out of 

 the sea. It is most interesting to the antiquarian, the botanist, 

 the artist, and, not least, to the ornithologist. The last might, from 

 its position, expect it to prove a second Heligoland; its tall light- 

 house, casting its rays far over the waters, must certainly attract 

 many a passing migrant. But the American Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 

 picked up dead on tlie ground beneath, is the only rare straggler 

 recorded as procured through the influence of the light. Mr. J. E,, 

 Chanter, of Fort Hill, Barnstaple, in 1875, communicated to the 

 Devonshire Association an excellent account of Lundy Island, in 

 which its history and antiquities are fully described. At the end 

 of his pamphlet he also gives lists of the birds, plants, &c. to be 

 met with. In bygone years the island maintained a larger popu- 

 lation than it does to-day : moss-covered mounds mark the site of 

 old cottages, some of these ruins still bearing the names of their 

 former tenants, and are remarkable as providing the botanist with 

 examples of old-fashioned plants no longer in general cultivation ; 

 while, in the winter-time, the sportsman will find that Woodcocks 

 seek them for shelter. The top of the island, where not cultivated, 

 is a bare plateau : stunted heath, furze, grass, and rush form the 

 only cover; the slopes towards the sea, known as the '^ sidlings,^' 

 are strewn with masses of granite cropping up through the fern, 

 some of the Aveather-worn blocks taking fantastic forms — one in 

 particular, from its resemblance to a helmeted warrior, is called 

 the Templar ; and, following the coast-line, scenes of picturesque 

 beauty are continually presented — the wild rocks, with the surges 

 beating against them far below ; the numerous races, Avhere the 

 tide rushes like a mill-stream between the small islands off the 

 north end ; the far blue of the horizon ; the countless cliff-birds 

 if it be the summer-time; and the mingled colours of the wild 

 flowers will furnish the artist with many a delightful theme. 

 Some water-colour drawings of Lundy, which are hanging at the 

 present time in the billiard-room of a mansion in South Ken- 

 sington bv Mr. Albert Goodwin, are "joys for ever." At the 



