Steep Holm Island, Somerset

Steep Holm Island, a lump of rock seen in the distance from the bustle of Weston-Super-Mare is Somerset’s ‘secret’ island. This isolated outcrop is a Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by the Kenneth Allsop Memorial Trust. As the small boat that brings you from Knightstone Island drives onto the shingle beach the seabirds begin to swirl and call, their isolated home disturbed by the visitors who the tides will strand for the next 12 hours.

The Bristol Channel has the world’s second-largest tidal range; access to the beach is only possible for a tiny window each day. Winds that blow up the Bristol Channel from the Irish Sea and the North Atlantic make the beach an exposed and dangerous landing in storms. Steep Holm is isolation in plain sight just 8km from Weston-super-Mare, a place where visits are controlled by the elements.

The island rises to 78 metres above sea level and is 800m long and 300m wide. The limestone cliffs, an extension of the nearby Mendip Hills are dotted with sea caves and the ledges make the perfect nesting area for the resident cormorants, gulls and peregrine falcons. Natural history merges with human history on the undulating paths around the island. The remains of the 12th Century priory and the decaying Victorian and Second World War military placements are slowly being engulfed and encrusted by lichens and vegetation.

  • an old doorway with rusty hinges surrounded by flowers
  • a small gull chick in the undergrowth
  • a gull with a blood covered beak
  • pebbles on a beach with interesting patterns
  • A gull chick on a shelf with yellow lichen
  • gull eggs tucked away in a nest on Steep Holm Island
  • two very young gull chicks huddled together in a corner
  • a speckled gull chick in bushes
  • a young chick standing under the tail feathers of its parent
  • an interesting flower found on Steep Holm Island
  • a gull with an open mouth
  • the feet of a gull on a cannon on Steepholm Island
  • a juvenile gull walking on rusting beams
  • a young gull on a piece of metal
  • a gull on a wall with a dark sky behind
  • a gull sitting on a wooden post
  • a gull chick running along a wall covered in lichen
  • a gull flying
  • a cormorant on a rock with pink marshmallow flowers

Steep Holm has a diverse range of plant species, some of which are remnants of the monks’ medieval physic garden. Among these unusual plants are hembane (Inula conyzae), island leek (Allium monanthum), Alexanders meadow (Smyrnium olusatrum), and the May flowering wild Mediterranean peony (Paeonia mascula).

Unlike other islands, there are no rabbits to keep the plant growth in check making the island feel like an unkempt wilderness. The paths are kept clear by the island volunteers and are surrounded by deep undergrowth to the cliff edge which provides the perfect cover for timid muntjac deer and young birds. As the summer progresses the growth of the plants beats the efforts of the volunteers and paths become trails.

From late April to mid-July, the island is alive with nesting seabirds. It feels like you are stepping into an Alfred Hitchcock horror movie as the birds circle continuously watching and waiting for their moment to strike. Three species of gulls nest on the island – herring gulls (Larus argentatus), lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus) and great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus). The adults are overprotective of their young who potter along the paths and dart in and out of the undergrowth making it a hazardous walk around the island. Umbrellas are an essential island accessory to protect you from diving adults and their less-than-friendly ‘s**t’ bombs.

As the tide drops and the shingle spit appears on the beach the metal remains of old piers and bollards are uncovered, scattered amongst the pretty grey pebbles. The small beach is so different to the expanses of golden sands at Weston-super-Mare, Brean and Berrow visible across the churning water. A perfect place to explore waiting for the boat to appear as the evening light engulfs the Old Inn.

I'm Suzanne the traveller and photographer behind Meandering Wild. With over 30 years of experience travelling to different corners of the world in search of wildlife and remote locations nearly all of the advice on this website is from my own exploring.