Steepholm

About

Steep Holm is a privately owned island in the Bristol Channel and is managed by a small group of Trustees. It lies about five miles (8 km) offshore from the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. Although relatively close to areas of high population, and sitting in the middle of a busy shipping channel, Steep Holm is isolated by brisk tidal currents and a difficult landing place.

Despite and indeed because of its isolation, Steep Holm is a rewarding place to visit, with visitors welcome on scheduled trips. It is a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest famed for its beautiful, May flowering, wild peony. It is home to the remains of a 12th century Augustinian priory.

The Victorians fortified the island and their six gun batteries, complete with cannons, remain largely intact. The former Barracks has been restored as a Visitor and Education/Exhibition Centre. There are intriguing Second World War remains: searchlight posts, gun batteries and rocket launcher sites.

And there is peace and quiet (when the gulls have finished rearing their young) with fantastic, 360 degree, panoramic views of the Bristol Channel and the Somerset and Welsh coastlines.