Habitat type: Cliffs, maritime grassland, scrub and woodland, sand & shingleSize of reserve: 9 hectares / 22 acresOS map number: 107Grid reference: SX 258 519Best time to visit: SummerDogs are not permitted on the island
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In 2008 the island was filmed as part of Channel 4's Time Team programme. A focus of the programme and the excavation was the chapel site at the highest point on the island. The chapel is known as St Michael's and it has been suggested that the island was purchased by Glastonbury Abbey to capitalise on the pilgrim trade relating to the cult of St Michael.
Excavations at the chapel gave a plan of the building, and below the floors the team uncovered the burial of an adult male, along with a piece of pottery dating to the 13th century. The landscape archaeologist was certain he had found evidence of much earlier activity on the island; a ditch running around the chapel. One of the biggest surprises came from the final trench to go in where the team stumbled across a hoard of Roman coins! For more details see the Time Team website.
The island is home to a number of people, please respect their privacy.
There is a marked trail around the island that takes in the site of a of a Benedictine chapel built in 1139 at the highest point (150 m). Legend says that Joseph of Arimathea came here.
The island was kindly bequeathed to the Trust in 2004 following the passing of the Atkins sisters. The story of how the sisters came to own the island is told in two books: We Bought an Island and Tales from our Cornish Island, both by Evelyn E Atkins. They can be ordered from the Trust's headquarters or bought during a visit to the Island.
