Changes at the Lookout

Lundy island; no hassle, no ‘you can’t park there mate’, no tarmac, no signs, no deliveroo, no class system, we’re all in it together –  two hours by boat, slower paced, old skool, do what you want, take responsibility, nae bother.  Just a 1000 acre granite lump of rock sat in the Celtic sea off the coast of North Devon. All peace and love and quiet with 23,00 seabirds, a pub (where phones are banned), a shop and 23 different places to stay, including a castle, a pigsty and a lighthouse, and the most isolated – the old Admiralty lookout, commonly known as Tibbetts, because it stands atop Tibbetts hill. The granite building has ten windows giving a lovely panoramic view of the island and the sea, where you can watch approaching storms and feel their force as the windows rattle, while you sit snug and warm.

While all the other places to stay are clustered around the farm in the south of the island, Tibbetts is a forty minute hike from the ‘village’ to the second highest point of the island, and famously off-grid. Which means the water comes from a well and calor gas is used to cook on and the bonus is a wonderfully inadequate phone signal. However last year, our June stay at Tibbetts was cancelled due to ‘major improvements’ ongoing and these had over run. We were offered a lovely week in Hanmers instead, for which we were grateful but there were rumours that electricity was coming to the old Lookout…. Was this the ultimate betrayal; gentrification of Tibbetts to appease the urban glampers who can’t light a fire or change a gaslight mantle?

TBF there have been changes over my 30 odd stays at Tibbetts spread over 15 years, but subtle little changes. A new wenlock, a shower that went from a drip to a stream (but still not quite hot enough) and several new boilers – each one with its own quirks on how to re-light the pilot light when the inevitable winds blew it out.

However these pale in comparison to the major changes that have happened since the admiralty left the building in 1925 and M.C. Harman set up the first Lundy ‘holiday cottage’ in 1926. For example, there is a wonderful piece of Lundy folklore that dates back to the 1930’s, in which a female guest had the bed moved up on to the roof, where there was a wooden lookout structure, which allowed her an incredible 360 view of the Atlantic on a hot summers night. This is maybe where the much quoted (but rarely seen) “you can watch 14 lighthouses flashing across the Bristol Channel and the Welsh/Devon coasts on clear nights” comes from. The reality is that it was an incredibly romantic idea for a calm summer night, but Lundy’s weather is notoriously arbitrary and unpredictable. You would have to abandon the rooftop perch when the island’s fierce, sudden winds and Atlantic squalls set in!

Perhaps the biggest change came in 1975/76 when the Landmark trust carried out major modernization to its layout umm, like moving the kitchen indoors (!) while intentionally preserving its famous, electricity-free rustic charm. In 1988 Tibbetts modern look was completed when stonemason John Steer built the wall around the building to keep the soay sheep (and other ferals like the horses and deer) from sheltering around the building.

With trepdation, walking through the threshold this year (May 2026) on a first visit since the latest renovation/ incarnation, surprisingly it all felt reassuringly normal.  However, on sitting down with a traditional first cuppa (of Miles tea) the changes start to reveal themselves. First off the front door has been replaced and about time too, it snowed once and it blew underneath the door to coat the welcome mat, not deep but crisp and even.

Walking into the bedroom and some ladders have been added to access the top bunks, fine, and a portion of the room has been matchboarded off to house the new boiler. In place of the old boiler above the sink is a new cupboard/ larder which is welcome, as extra storage always is.

Turn on the tap and hot water comes out but the groaning sound of the water pump on the roof was disappointingly silent, an upgrade there but sad for traditional Tebbettans who will miss one of the most iconic sounds of a Tibbetts experience.

The radiators, yes radiators, were a shock. Personally I have never felt cold in Tibbetts, once you learn how to work and control the old Aga Wenlock, you could keep it in for the week and rarely need to re-light it. In fact sometimes it would get too hot! A new unbranded wenlock has replaced the old with a big window to burn coals with ambient looks. Using the riddler and damping controls I found that I could also keep the coals in all night (all night long ) so win win there. The radiators have a thermostat control in the bedroom and can be turned down  or off if things get too hot hot hot..

Now here’s the thing. Despite the massive upgrade to the infrastructure behind the scenes with solar panels with new boiler and pump upgrade the headline will be “Tibbetts has electricity!” It’s true the lights have been replaced by LED’s, and any attempt to light them with a lighter, rolled up newspaper or match, will fail – instead there is a switch. The same shades have been used and the dull yellow glow has been replicated, there’s just not the noise or the smell or the hassle of replacing the mantles. There is still no socket or place to recharge your phone or camera batteries.

If that is a negative then the massive plus is the shower. It works, full stop, and there are some nice new tiles. There’s a consistent strong jet of hot water, no more dicing with the vagaries of the boiler that could deliver a sudden cold water shock to interrupt your merry lathering. I met a lady at the battery who said that when she had stayed at Tibbetts “there was no shower”, this must have been pre 1975 when a shower was built in the old coal shed. Mind you she was a member of the Lundy Field Society, who are generally prone to Lundy one-up-man ship, akin to Monty Pythons ‘Four Yorkshiremen’, and they don’t mind telling you either. Regardless of whether it was an exaggeration or not, I didn’t feel worthy enough to follow up the conversation as I was clearly an oik and as such, a trifling nonentity.  The downside of having a fab shower is however that punters use it and consequentially it uses more water, so much so that the well has had to be refilled by bowzer during the dry spring….

There are questions also as to whether the solar panels can keep the system working during the winter months when daylight is short and power may be down. In the old Tibbetts is was possible to survive, with ease, a February storm and simple meal can be turned into a memorable feast by the inhabitants, who have persevered to outwit nature. Rewarding yes, but how different our experiences must be to those who manned the lookout over one hundred years ago.

In conclusion, the refit has all been done very sympathetically and looks very authentic, so big up to the maintenance team and island chippie. Others will be upset or even angry at the changes from turning a bothy experience into a sell-out and saying that Tibbetts has lost it’s soul, to a certain extent I agree but lets get real, unlike us – the a, b, c, or z generation didn’t grow up lighting fires for warmth or go on scout/gguide camp with a primus stove. The increased popularity of Lundy as an experience to connect with nature must be nurtured but be affordable too, for everyone. Tibbetts used to be the cheapest way to Lundy for us gang of four back in the day, but now it is up there with the most expensive, hopefully in a few years time the hype will die down and we can book a few stays without an 18 month lead-in time.

Personally, biggest miss about the improvements, which has more to do with sentimentalism and a wistful affection of our past visits, than anything else; is the smell and roar of the gas lights.  It conjurers up so many shared memories with Tibbetts troopers; top bunkers,  cold shower squeakers, in-door bbq’s, shower drippers, peas in the kettle & the most fabulously ‘at peace’ sunsets you will ever experience. Lundy delivers every time for many people in many different ways and long may it continue.

The view belongs to everyone.

Knoll pin with low tide visitors.

Thank You   for   looking  and support.

Please leave your comments below if only a thumbs up, feedback always appreciated.

Like and subscribe etc, etc

Check out my portfolio  https://www.esterspearsphotography.com/

where Puffin prints are available.

Or if you want:

Buy me a cuppa tea.

bonus pic