The tender rocks a little, the spray stings your cheeks, and before you grows a granite plateau set on the sea, ringed by cliffs where birds wheel. Lundy, anchored in the Bristol Channel off Devon, measures barely five kilometres long by one wide. Its name is said to come from Old Norse and to mean "puffin island": the Vikings had already named it after its colourful-billed inhabitants. Today owned by the National Trust, it lives without cars, almost without residents, and entirely to the rhythm of the tides.

From the Landing to the Village

Passengers come ashore at Landing Bay, in the south of the island, on a modest jetty tucked beneath the cliffs. From there, a path zigzags up to the plateau; the slope wakes up your calves, but each bend reveals a little more sea. At the top, the "village" consists of a few granite buildings: a handful of cottages, a shop, the Victorian church of St Helena, whose bell tower can be seen from afar, and the Marisco Tavern, the island's only pub, housed in the quarrymen's former 19th-century store. It serves simple meals and a local beer beneath low ceilings hung with buoys and shipwreck photographs. A small pleasure for collectors: since 1929, Lundy has issued its own stamps, featuring a puffin, which carry mail to the mainland. Posting a card from here is among the most original souvenirs there is.

The People of the Cliffs

From April to July, puffins nest in burrows on the western slopes, alongside razorbills, guillemots and Manx shearwaters, nocturnal birds that also dig their tunnels in the peat. The coastal paths let you observe them without disturbing them, keeping your distance from the edges. Add grey seals basking on the rocks of the east coast, wild goats, ponies and sika deer introduced long ago, and Lundy takes on the look of a wind-battered Noah's Ark. The surrounding waters, moreover, form one of the first marine reserves created in England.

Walking on the Granite Roof

The plateau lends itself to a walk that is both easy and grand. A main path runs north between dry-stone walls, heather moorland and tiny ponds. Along the way, you pass the old granite lighthouse built in 1819, so often shrouded in fog that it had to be replaced by two lights built lower down on the headlands. Climbing its steps offers the island's best panorama: sea all around, and the coasts of Devon and Wales on clear days. The wind, for its part, never fails to show up. Farther south stand the ruins of Marisco Castle, built in the 13th century, when a family of pirate lords ruled these waters. You rarely meet more than a few walkers along the way; the feeling of having the plateau to yourself is part of the journey. Lundy has seen it all: monks, smugglers, quarrymen, farmers. What remains are scattered stones and good stories.

Port Call Tips

• Walking shoes recommended: the paths are good, but the terrain remains uneven.
• Frequent wind, even in summer; a waterproof jacket will serve you well.
• No ATM on site; the shop and the pub are the only businesses.

When the tender heads back to the ship, you always turn around. The shore recedes, the cliffs resume their conversation with the swell, and you reflect that this tiny island has kept what the modern world readily misplaces: silence, space and seabirds by the thousands. Three hours here leave memories worth a week.