Steepholm- An Island of Adventure
* All information contained in this feature has been compiled by LM Nicholas after he visited the island. The author has used several different sources to get this information.
STEEPHOLM
Steepholm is a rugged, mysterious island situated about five miles off Weston-Super-Mare, in the Bristol Channel. The 50-acre island has for years entranced visitors with its abundant rare wildlife, beautiful terrain and wide range of historical relics and features. Steepholm offers its visitors superb views of the Welsh and English coasts, the Seven Estuary and also the nearby island of Flatholm. The island is administered and looked-after by the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust, who preserve the island's status as a registered nature reserve and site of special scientific interest. The trust purchased the island in 1976 as a tribute to the pioneer conservationist and journalist Kenneth Allsop who died in 1973. Before the trust bought the island, a previous organisation called the Steepholm Trust had managed the island. The current trust is a registered charity, and its members are responsible for ensuring that the island remains unspoilt and retains its original features. They have to keep paths clear, repair damaged or hazardous buildings, tend to the local wildlife, serve at counters in the visitor centre, and cope with the administration of the island. Steepholm is also supported by a mainland group, the Steepholm Shirkers, who are counted as friends of the island.
NATURAL HISTORY
Steepholm is a place of natural beauty. The island boasts many medicinal and herbal plants that are now rare on the mainland. The most well-known of these plants is the famous Steepholm peony. Steepholm is 330 million years old, and was part of the Mendip Hills until the shifting forces of nature played their part in its geographical redevelopment. Steepholm also has a massive gull colony, which started off with a few hundred species in the 1920s and has since multiplied into thousands. Other resident bird life includes cormorants and even peregrine falcons amongst others. Most of the cormorants can be found at the cormorant cliffs on the island, which are the most prominent cormorant cliffs in the entire Bristol Channel. Though many birds are local to Steepholm, few mammals are. The elusive Muntjac deer can sometimes be seen in the island undergrowth, as can rabbits and hedgehogs. Also, the common grey seal is often seen off the shore of the island during the summer months.
GEOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND
Steepholm is 825m long from east to west, and 315m long from north to south. It has an elliptical base shape, and boasts the second highest tide levels in the world. In the years to come, mankind may use the island's magnificent tides to their full potential by constructing a tidal energy barrage near to Steepholm. The island is a dome shape, and has steep cliffs which rise upwards until they meet a reasonably flat plateau on the top of the island. Most of the island's buildings can be found on this plateau, though there are a few military positions on the scree cliffs and rocky outcrops. An incline path runs from the small island beach up to the plateau, and is the only way to ascend Steepholm without doing some illegal rock climbing. Most of the island is covered by thick undergrowth, and occasional flower gardens. The eastern cliffs support a small sycamore wood.
VISITOR SERVICES
The island visitor centre can be located facing westwards on the plateau. It consists of the old Victorian Barracks building (a grade II listed historical building) and contains a small but interesting museum, an outside picnic area and viewpoint, a shop, and a tea room. There are also toilet blocks outside the barracks (it is not recommended to use the old World War 2 latrines). The tea room sells cold and hot drinks, and a limited range of snacks. The island shop sells postcards and official island postage stamps, as well as several books on the island, and other leaflets, booklets and pamphlets. It also sells t-shirts and commemorative clothing. The museum features framed photographs, and small relics of the island's history.
HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS AND MONUMENTS
Historical artifacts, relics, ruins and monuments are found far and wide on the island. There are several artillery batteries on the plateau, as well as searchlight posts, medieval ruins and other monuments.
Medieval Relics- There is a monk's well and the ruins of a 12th century priory which has recently been excavated by archaeologists.
Victorian and Renaissance era Relics- You can find the ruins of an old tenement (1776) near the priory, an 1865 farmhouse, Victorian reservoirs and water supplies, the Victorian barracks (now a visitor centre), limekilns, the ruins of a 19th century inn (currently being restored and rebuilt for further use), the remains of a cottage from the 1830s, and several Victorian gun emplacements and underground ammunition stores (still accessible) with their original cannon located in or near the emplacements. Steepholm was fortified for the first time in the 1860s, when the threat of an invasion by France seemed very real.
World War 1 Relics- The only relic dating from the First World War is the incline railway (see incline railway section below) which was original used by the German Army in WW1, and was rebuilt on the island during the Second World War, when Steepholm was fortified for the second time. The railway tracks and apparatus can still be seen today, and the incline path used by the railway is now the only way to reach the plateau.
World War 2 Relics- All of these items date from the second fortification of the island during WW2, after the disaster at Dunkirk. You will be able to find water and fuel tank supports, several gun batteries which are mostly extensions of the old Victorian emplacements, one 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft machine-gun, and several pads used to support more of these weapons, generator houses, nissen huts where the soldiers slept and lived, cliffside searchlight posts (one of these is totally inaccesible as the steps leading to it are unsafe, but the other one can be reached only in perfect conditions), battery observation posts, latrines and their incinerators and other good finds.
Other Relics- There are many other monuments on Steepholm, including a modern-day Ordnance Survey triangulation or trigonometry stone at the summit, and also a Roman signal station.
GETTING TO THE ISLAND
It is difficult to get to Steepholm from South Wales, but trips from the English coast are arranged more regularly. All visitors need a temporary permit to visit Steepholm (there are no public rights of way), so prices may seem a bit steep (no pun intended). If you are visiting Steepholm on a large boat, you may have to disembark onto a smaller craft that is able to land passengers on the beach. The beach doesn't have a jetty, so you will have to leap courageously onto the beach from the boat!
THE INCLINE RAILWAY
A main aspect of Steepholm's history is the military incline railway (originally a German Field Railway) that was captured from German forces during the First World War. The incline railway was used to haul materials up the narrow guage track to the plateau, and was operated by diesel fuelled winch systems. The Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust has often been asked about the possibility of putting the railway back into use. The Trust has said that that would be possible with a bit of hard work, but would mean that the incline path would not be safe to be used as a footpath anymore, so visitors wouldn't be able to get to the top.
EXPLORE THE ISLANDS OF BRITAIN WEBSITE
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Go to A Visit to Steepholm
THINGS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO STEEPHOLM
- Suitable Clothing- Obviously, the island is steep and the summit is 256 feet above sea level. Some of the paths that must be used to reach the top of the island will require that you wear sturdy shoes.
- A Camera- The island is abundant in beautiful natural features and wildlife. There are also many historical features. A camera is a good idea.
- Binoculars- To fully enjoy the aesthetical pleasures of the island.
- Money- The island has its own tea room and shop which are situated in the visitor's centre. It also has its own postage stamps and postcards.
- Food and Drink- The island has a tea room which will see to your needs for drinks, but they do not have much food on the island.
VISIT THE OFFICIAL STEEPHOLM WEBSITE
The Steepholm Website
Email: nichos123_99@yahoo.com
