Visitors can explore one of the Bristol Channel’s gems this month when visits to Steep Holm Island resume.
The 63-acre island in the Bristol Channel features limestone cliffs and caves and is steeped in local history – with tales of Vikings, pirates, monks and hidden treasure.
Steep Holm is also a nature reserve and bird sanctuary and is designated as a site of special scientific interest due to the rare plants found on the island, including the May flowering wild Mediterranean peony.
Trips to the island have been suspended since March 2020, when the country went into lockdown.
However, now the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust, which owns and manages Steep Holm, has confirmed it is resuming trips to the island from Weston, amid the easing of Covid restrictions.
Trust chairman Stephen Parker says: “We are delighted to be welcoming people back to the island and looking forward to having lots of visitors to such a wonderful place.”
Sailings to and from Weston can only take place at high tides and the day trip lasts 12 hours. The first trip is planned for July 13, with visits scheduled until the end of September.
Sailings will take place on July 13, 25 and 27, August 9, 11, 22 and 24 and September 7, 9, 21 and 23. For more details, log on to www.Steepholm.online and to book, follow the link to Bay Island Voyages.
Trust spokesman Graham Briscoe adds: “The Island has been inhabited on and off for centuries, is full of hidden surprises and is steeped in history.”
“Its history is told by stories of Celtic gods carved in stone, Vikings and pirates, monks and legends of treasure.”
“It is an archaeological dream – archaeologists have found prehistoric evidence, Roman remains, coins, rare glass. An old priory and those who never left the island, whose graves were laid undisturbed for 100s of years.”
