Having never been to Steepholm before, I didn't know what to expect. However, my visit to Steepholm turned out to be a great day out, and luckily the weather stayed dry.
I boarded the Balmoral Waverley Cruiser at the pier in the town of Penarth, just to the side of Cardiff in South Wales. After embarking onto the boat we set sail for Steepholm. The weather was mainly bright but a bit drizzly. I remained optimistic. The steamer sailed in a south-west direction, giving us views of the Welsh and English coastlines, and Sully Island near Barry. Soon we came closer to the middle of the Bristol Channel and saw Steepholm rise out of the ocean before us. We bypassed the island of Flatholm and saw Brean Down on the Devon-Somerset coast. Before we knew it, the pleasant cruise journey was coming to an end. We neared Steepholm and went right along the edge of the island, avoiding the treacherous undersea rocks. The impassive barracks building could be seen staring out to sea from the top of the island. There was no visible beach, just scree cliffs and rocky outcrops dotted with thick undergrowth. There were seagulls and other birds everywhere, energetically circling around the island. Everyone was wondering, how do we get up to the top? The cruise boat was too large to dock at Steepholm, because the island doesn't have a pier or jetty. So, a small historic boat called the Bristol Queen took the passengers in a series of boatloads onto Steepholm. When it was my turn I boarded the Bristol Queen and we sailed around the corner of the island to a point only visible from the Weston-Super-Mare side of the Channel. The island's converging tides carried us onto the pebble and shingle island landing beach. We had to walk down a gangway, summon our courage and leap onto the beach, getting splashed in the process. After the tricky business of getting onto Steepholm, we all made our way slowly up the beach toward a low concrete block where the beach joined the cliffs. At this 'block' there were steps and a few old buildings; the remains of a 19th century inn (now partly restored as a warden depot) and a WW2 telephone exchange system. Stone stairs led up from the beach to the concrete block. At the bottom of the cliff was a big pile of rusting metal, which turned out to be the remains of the old military pier (now torn down because it was unsafe). I followed the stone block along the bottom of the cliff until it yielded to earth surrounded on either side by vegetation. The path sloped upwards, and at my feet I could see the old German Field Railway track poking out of the earth where it had been half-buried by nature. It became apparent that I was now following the incline path, the only way to reach Steepholm's upper plateau. The path continued to slope upwards, and zig-zagged along the cliffside. After passing the ruins of an old stone cottage, some concrete ridges used to support water and fuel tanks, I came to a large plaque dedicated to Kenneth Allsop. I then continued walking, ascending the incline path and thinking what a good idea building a bench or two would be. The warden soon walked past and we had a chat about the railway and how the path had been blasted out of the cliffside to make it wide enough. After spotting a cormorant chick I continued the ascent, eventually reaching a turn in the path which indicated that I had reached the upper plateau. The sunshine was now out, and I explored the Garden Battery before moving any further. This battery offered exceptional views of the sea, and had 7-inch Victorian era muzzle-loaded cannon lying near to its original position. From there it was on to the barracks building, where I enjoyed a cup of tea and bought some information on the island (a few books) before walking onwards. There were several opportunities to follow other paths, but I stuck to the main trail and soon came to the Split Rock Battery, which has two gun emplacements and two underground ammunition stores, as well as a remarkably intact 40mm Bofors Light Anti-Aircraft gun the trail guide boooklet i'd bought then advised me to follow the footpath onwards to the Rudder Rock Battery. On the way I saw more stunning wildlife. At the Rudder Rock Battery the Alexander meadows could be admired, as could more stone fortifications and artillery emplacements. I daringly decided to follow the tricky searchlight steps down onto the cliffs, but then turned back as my bravery ran out. The next section of paths I walked along offered the best views of the day, of the South Wales coastline and the Vale of Glamorgan. The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff could be seen, as could Flatholm, Sully Island and other landmarks such as local communications masts and the Aberthaw power station. Next, I came to the Summit Battery (also called 'Steep Holm North Battery). I explored the dark depths of the underground shelters and ammunition lockers, reminding myself that rats could be down in the darkness, and I didn't have a torch. The perimeter path took me past more relics such as wartime latrines, the concrete bases for nissen huts, a generator house, another searchlight post and its steps, and other features, until I came to another battery, the Laboratory Battery (so called because a stone hut nearby was used for testing gunpowder mixtures). I explored another Victorian gun site but was unable to look in the ammunition locker as it had mostly collapsed and was unsafe. Next up was a small, single gun Victorian battery called the Tombstone Battery, named after a medieval grave slab that was unearthed during the construction of the battery. The remains of the 13th century tombstone could be seen in the barracks. I had been walking along the perimeter of the plateau, and now my feet took me inwards toward the centre of the island. I had the objective of reaching the island summit in mind. I passed a brick winch house and some more railway remains as the railway had been used (to a lesser extent) in the centre of the island as well as on the incline cliff. In this part of Steepholm the paths kept crossing each other and formed what resembles a small maze. I soon arrived at the summit, which features a pillar marking an official ordnance survey trigonometry point. The highest point of Steepholm is 256 feet above sea level, and when I was stood there it felt like standing on top of the world, with marvellous views all around as far as the eye could see. Before I knew it, it was time to leave. After a short stop in the barracks it was time to descend the incline path and board the Balmoral down at the beach. What a great day out.
DON'T FORGET TO VISIT STEEPHOLM'S OFFICIAL SITE
The Steepholm Official Website
