T
here are people, and I am
most definitely one of
them, who find islands
somehow irresistible.
The mere knowledge that
they are on a little world
surrounded by the sea fills them with an
indescribable intoxication. Islands have
been the setting for both great literary
works and world-changing scientific
discovery. So what is it about them that
touches our psyche so deeply? I think
the answer is different for each of us.
Maybe it’s because they are whole,
delineated and fathomable entities –
some can even be walked around in a
day. Perhaps we also look to places on
the periphery for escape, inspiration,
and freedom. The values of island life
- self-sufficiency, the importance of
community and being accountable to
each other – connect us more closely
to what it is to be human.
Arguably, it is also where we can feel
the greatest connection to the ocean.
This outer edge offers uncluttered
horizons that give us a cognitive break,
freeing the mind from a daily overload
of information.
They also offer up the wild; the
greatest wilderness left on Britain today
is the intertidal zone. At the frontier
between two worlds, the ocean reveals
its secrets twice a day and offers a
unique window into life beneath the
waves. For us terrestrial beings this is
the only place where most of us can
touch, see and experience underwater
creatures and landscapes.
What may look like a rock in the
distance cannot be judged from the
mainland. You won’t know its secrets
until you have made the effort to walk,
scramble, wade and sometimes even
swim to discover it. To an islandeer,
every island is a treasure island.
ESCAPE THE
SOUTH-COAST CROWDS
THORNEY
Emsworth, West Sussex
Crossing the bridge over the Great
Deep, you reach the MoD’s formidable
barbed-wire fence, with its CCTV
cameras and intercom-controlled
access. But once on the other side of
the metal gate, the contrast couldn’t be
sharper. Reclaimed mudf lats open out,
alive with the sounds of the creeping
tides, the alarm calls of oystercatchers
and Brent geese taking f light. Earthy
aromas of seaweed and salty mud
drying in the sun soon fill your nostrils.
The lack of commercial development
on the island makes this a wonderful
haven for wildlife, and the wild, sandy
beach at the southern tip is a great
place for a warm swim.
Good fact In the tiny hamlet of West
Thorney, the graveyard of St Nicholas’
Church is the poignant resting place for
World War II servicemen, both Allied
and German, who now lie side by side.
Don’t miss Ospreys in autumn at
Pilsey Island Reserve.
