rugged

The tiny island is home to just six permanent residents, and has more sheep than people, while its only entry and exit point takes you soaring 250m above the Atlantic Ocean

Far removed from the rest of civilisation, this tiny island has been frozen in time, with nothing but fragments of a life that once thrived and a handful of people who still call it home.

Off the coast of West Cork in Ireland sits Dursey, a charming island steeped in history but offering little else. Ever since the stunning landscape acquired a new form of transport, visitors have been able to travel across from the mainland in a distinctive way and discover a place that appears to have ceased to exist.

This tranquil island is home to approximately six permanent residents, with around 15 houses that are deemed habitable and up to seven farmers.

Their livestock stays on the island, and the owners who traditionally inherited the land continue to spend a few nights on the island but never remain. This means there are likely more sheep inhabiting Dursey than there are people.

Best UK holiday cottage deals

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

From £27 per night

Sykes Cottages

See the deals

Sykes Cottages offers a wide range of handpicked holiday homes across the UK and Ireland, from cosy countryside retreats to stunning coastal escapes. Prices start from £27 per night

It’s understood that when people who live in Dursey have children, they have no option but to have a primary home on the mainland, to enable schooling and access to other facilities.

Unique attraction

Dursey is home to a rare form of transport in Ireland, and the country’s one and only cable car. It carries travellers 250m above the Atlantic Ocean, across to the island, surrounded by nothing but verdant green hills.

Starting from Ballaghboy, Cork, on Ireland’s mainland, the aerial voyage transports you to Dursey in a mere seven and a half minutes.

Throughout the journey travellers can absorb the breathtaking coastal views as the minuscule speck of land gradually grows larger before them.

Built in 1969 as a reliable and secure link between the island and Cork’s mainland, as the surrounding waters are considered far too hazardous for regular boat crossings.

The stretch of water is known as the Dursey Sound and has proved erratic over the decades, with rapid tidal surges. Beyond this, submerged rocks encircling the landmass also render it a perilous voyage and generally unsafe for travellers.

After experiencing the cable car journey, one visitor posted on TripAdvisor: “For us this was the most beautiful part of Ireland.

“We took our mountain bikes over in the cable car, and luckily for us, the weather was glorious. We saw almost all of the island and spent ages staring at the views. We just haven’t seen anything to top it despite travelling the whole way round Ireland.”

Another expressed their admiration for the island, posting: “I absolutely loved Dursey Island. It’s a stunning place, delightfully remote and serene. It is the last place in Europe that the sun sets, a cool fact for you!”.

Historic ruins

Its rugged terrain is also home to numerous equally weathered historical ruins, dating back as far as the 17th century. The most notable of these historic structures is O’Sullivan Beare Castle, which was almost completely razed during the Nine Years’ War in 1602.

Very little of it survives today, and the devastation inflicted by English forces also resulted in a massacre of local residents. One visitor claimed: “Dunboy Castle was very cool, though some information on the site would have been helpful – similar to the plaques found elsewhere. The ruins are overgrown, and you almost stumble into them. “.

Another attraction is the 19th-century Napoleonic-era signal tower. It stands quietly on the island’s highest point, originally built with the purpose of warning against French invasion.

Yet it has remained in ruins since the mid-19th century, abandoned and forgotten by history.

Commonly known as the Church of Kilmichael, it comprises the monastic church and graveyard lying in ruins on the quiet island. It’s believed that the church was established by monks from Skellig Michael but was likewise destroyed in the infamous siege of 1602 by Sir George Carew’s army.

This little town in Yorkshire is ideal for fans of Emily Bronte’s gothic story thanks to its wild and rugged surroundings, and nearby attractions that might just be haunted…

Sometimes, when a storm hits the UK, rain batters the pavements and wind whips the trees, it’s easy to feel swept up in the kind of awe-inspiring conditions that helped Emily Brontë to write her classic novel, Wuthering Heights.

There is a little town in Yorkshire, 100miles from Cathy and Heathcliff’s home, but steeped in as much Gothic drama, where every day feels like you’ve tumbled into such dark Victorian melodrama.

As I stepped aboard my coach bound for Whitby, I imagined a sleepy seaside town, much like those down south that slowly emerge as you drive along the road towards the sea. What I got was very different.

Just getting to Whitby was a beautiful journey. The town is nestled between the rugged expanse of the moors and the wild thrashing of the North Sea. In days gone by, travellers would only be able to access it if they hiked for miles along the hills and valleys of the North York Moors or braved the violent waves of the sea. Now, we have cars and trains, but both still take you over the moors.

READ MORE: Stunning Welsh beach named best in in UK and will stop you in your tracksREAD MORE: I travel the world because of my divorce – now I always pack the same 2 items

As my coach sped through the twists and turns of the roads across the moors, I was like a child, with my face pressed against the window. There wasn’t a soul for miles, just acres and acres of heather. Once in Whitby, when you hear the waves crash against the sea defences and feel the wind whistle past your ears, it’s easy to see how someone might think a faint voice calling for Heathcliff was coming over their shoulder.

The town itself is split into two halves. The newer section was built following the Second World War, but much of the town is older and filled with Georgian terraces. Even older is Whitby Abbey, whose ruins stand proudly at the top of a cliff and have inspired many a tale, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

If you walk along the coast from the nearby villages of Saltmoore and Sandsend, the gothic ruins stay within your sightline. Lucky hikers will get to see the sea fog – which locals used to believe was the fiery breath of a dragon – come in to cover the abbey. You’ll feel like you’re trekking the same paths Heathcliff did as he searched for Catherine’s ghost, not least because Emerald Fennell’s new film was shot about two hours away, in the Yorkshire Dales.

The most remarkable sight comes when you walk back towards Whitby, as when the fog clears, the Abbey can be seen looming through a gap between the cliffs. It’s terrifying and awe-inspiring all at once. I felt drawn towards the ruins, much as Cathy is drawn to Heathcliff or as an entranced Lucy is drawn to Dracula. How could anyone resist such a terrible sight?

Indeed, not Whitby residents of years gone by. Whitby Storyteller, Rose Rylands, who tells of the myths of the moors. When Rose spoke about the ghostly figures said to appear on the hilltops, goosebumps pebbled my skin, as if I was walking with them myself.

The tale of Bram’s inspiration in Whitby was similarly haunting. During a holiday, the author stayed on the West Cliff, offering views of the Abbey, which he felt suited the Gothic atmosphere of his story. One day, he turned to the local library to research a shipwreck, only to discover the name ‘Dracula’ in the records. Its meaning in the Wallachian language, Bram learned, is ‘devil’.

When Rose told us these tales, the winter’s night pressing against the hostel windows, my heart started to beat faster. I began to wonder if I, too, would soon be hallucinating the ghost of lost love calling to me.

Of course, Heathcliff’s hallucinations of Cathy’s ghost all happen at night, and there really is nowhere better to see the stars than the North York Moors. The national park is a designated International Dark Sky Reserve, one of only 25 in the world, protected from light pollution and able to provide clear horizons, clouds permitting. As someone who grew up in London and finds it hard to sleep without the orange glow of streetlights coming in through the curtains, just standing in complete darkness is a wonder. When the stars are visible, there are no words.

We went to Castle Howard, a stately home that has served as a filming location for Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton, to see the stars. Except for the enormous house, there is nothing around for miles, leaving the sky unpolluted by light. Inside, the house is equally beautiful.

The entrance hall is a vast space whose domed ceiling has been painted with the most gorgeous fresco of cherubs – it’s similar to Michelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam, which decorates the Sistine Chapel. The whole place feels like an art gallery, really. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that people actually live there, but they do. The family is very involved in ensuring the house and its heritage remain standing strong.

Flouncing around the house, through the rooms, and then eventually into the cold and dark night definitely made me feel like I was Cathy after she had married Edgar Linton. Castle Howard has all the opulence of Thrushcross Grange, and it was easy to slip into the role of the new wife enjoying her surroundings. Heading out to see the stars, with the house behind me, had my heart racing, as though I could really see Heathcliff across the moors at Wuthering Heights.

If you want to really live in the kind of luxury that the Earnshaws did (without the madness and rooms where the wallpaper is modelled after Margot Robbie’s skin), the Saltmoore Hotel and Spa is the place to go. Just slightly removed from the touristy bustle of Whitby, the hotel is extremely peaceful. My room was a huge and managed to fit in a double bed, a giant shower (with underfloor heating) and two incredibly comfortable armchairs where you can sit and you listen out for ghosts at the window.

Additionally, the staff couldn’t be more helpful. They even lend you wellies for a walk along the beach. Fingers crossed the next time I go, I’ll be better prepared. And best believe, I will be back. For costume drama fans, there really is nowhere better to be.

Book it

Rose can be booked for walking tours of Whitby via her website.

You can find out more on visitengland.com and visitnorthyorkshire.com. Rooms at the Saltmoore Hotel and Spa start from £311 a night, based on two adults sharing.

Rooms at Saltmoore Hotel and Spa start at £236.

Ensure our latest lifestyle and travel stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.