Can I stay on Lundy island

A.� Yes you can, James. Lundy is owned by the National Trust and maintained by the Landmark Trust, which buys and restores buildings and places of historic interest, and lets them as holiday accommodation. < xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� What is Lundy

A.� A small and beautiful island in the Bristol Channel, some 12 miles west of the Devon coast. It is three and a half miles long and less than a mile wide.

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Q.� So what's there to do there

A.� Plenty. Its position - on bird migration routes - means it's an ornithologist's paradise. It's also great for sub-aqua and snorkel enthusiasts and rock-climbers.

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Q.� Birds

A.� Notably the puffin, which gave the island its Norse name. There are 35 seabird species there. Lundy is home to only one native species of land mammal - the pygmy shrew. It is tiny, reaching�only a maximum length of 6cm, and needs to feed almost continuously on a diet of invertebrates to stay alive. There's also a Lundy cabbage.

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Q.� History

A.� Lundy is mostly granite and research now suggests that the island is formed from the remnants of a volcano. Evidence for previous occupation of Lundy includes flint tools dating to 10,000BC as well as Bronze Age settlements. Henry III used it as a royal Warren - to breed rabbits for his kitchens. Like the Scillies isles (click here to read about them) it was a haven for pirates and smugglers. By 1647 it had a military garrison commanded by Thomas Bushell. Later, a rector called Thomas Heaven acquired the island and Lundy became known as the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, of course, it's famous for its stamps.

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Q.� Stamps

A.� Oh yes and quite a controversy, too. A Post Office was opened on Lundy on 4 March, 1887, and later a telegraph cable was laid from North Devon. Until 1927, all mail bore the current British stamps with a local Lundy cancellation. But then, when no new postmaster could be found, the island's owner M C Harman, asked the GPO to shut the post office. Harman then carried all local mail at his own expense - so he decided to mint his own coinage and stamps.

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Q.� Trouble

A.� Yes - but not too serious. He was accused of 'unlawfully issuing a piece of metal contrary to the Coinage Act of 1870' - and fined �5. The first two Lundy stamps were issued on 1 November, 1929, in the local currency of a half-puffin pink and one-puffin blue. Stamps have been issued on Lundy regularly since and much sought-after by collectors.

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Q.� How can I get there

A.� By Lundy's own ship, the Oldenburg. It carries 267 passengers, and provides a bar, buffet, shop and information centre. You can catch it from either Ilfracombe or Bideford, and the voyage takes about two hours.

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Q.� Where can I stay

A.� There are plenty of places and the Landmark Trust properties are of particular interest - from a 13th-Century castle, a Georgian gentleman's villa, a lighthouse and fisherman's chalet. For more details, click on www.landmarktrust.co.uk

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By Steve Cunningham