My favourite Islands

When I tell people that I collect islands, invariably one of the first questions they ask is 'which is your favourite?'  I usually tell them that it is difficult to compare very different islands.  However I have now devised my own personal scoring system.  A total of 10 marks are available, one for each of the following things:

1.  A lighthouse or daymark
2.  Seabirds other than gulls
3.  A sandy beach of yellow, white/cream or silver sand
4.  A hill
5.  Something particularly interesting in the natural landscape or geology
6.  A geocache
7.  Something unique to that island
8.  Interesting ruins e.g. chapel, castle, factory
9.  Information point or refreshments
10.  An extra point for having an additional lighthouse/daymark or sandy beach

However my experience of an island is also affected by the weather on the day I visited and sometimes by a feeling that I can't put into words.

Here are my top 20 favourite islands and their scores:

1.   Lundy - 10
2.   Rum - 9
3.   Llanddwyn -8
4.   Bardsey - 8
5.   Valentia - 8
6.   Barra - 8
7.   Tresco - 8
8.   Iona - 8
9.   Portland - 8
10.   St Agnes - 8
11.   Sark -8
12.   Great Cumbrae - 7
13.   Flat Holm -7
14.   Stronsay - 7
15.   Coll -6
16.   Looe/St George's - 6
17.   Steep Holm - 6
18.   Herm - 5
19.   St Martins - 5
20.   Ilnacullin/Garinish, Inchcolm and Skomer - 4

I realise that this scoring system favours larger islands, as they are more likely to have the necessary elements somewhere on them.  

Island 128 - Constantine Island, Cornwall

I actually visited this island for a geocache back in 2004 but at the time wasn't convinced it was big enough to be an island but I passed by again while walking along the South West Coast Path in July 2011 and have decided that it has just about enough grass to graze a sheep on it.  It isn't named on the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map but it is known locally as Constantine Island, due to its location at the north end of Constantine Bay.  It is about 100 metres long by 50 metres wide and can be accessed from north end of the beach at Constantine Bay on the North Cornwall coast at low tide with a small scramble over some rocks.

I revisited in March 2014 and the scramble up on to the island looks much harder than it used to be.  It was raining, so the rocks were wet and slippery.  Maybe on a summer day it would have been easier.  

In 2007 a human skeleton from the Bronze Age was discovered in a cist (small stone lined box) on the seaward side of the island.  It was identified as an adult male and was located on top of a sandy mound, which contained bones from at least 4 other bodies.  A piece of Neolithic pottery was located below the mound and Mesolithic flints were found in the area.

 Constantine Bay on a very windy morning at high tide - the island is barely visible through the spray.

 

Constantine Island on a sunny afternoon at low tide  

 The best access up onto the island is on the right hand side of the photo

 Just for a moment, I thought I had found a dead person's hand, then I realised it was a rubber glove!

Constantine Bay and Island at low tide in March 2014