A slanting 10-hectare chunk of grass-topped rock, tidal Burgh Island is connected to Bigbury-on-Sea by a stretch of sand at low tide. At high water the journey is made by a sea-tractor (one-way £2), an eccentric device where the passenger platform is perched on stilts 6ft above the tractor's wheels and the waves. Once ashore, it takes around 30 minutes to walk around the island.
Once on the island, bear right, taking the cliff path that edges rocky coves as it heads uphill. At the summit you'll find the remains of a huer's hut, a shelter where lookouts waited to spot lucrative pilchard shoals then raised the alarm (hence the phrase: 'hue and cry').
The gorgeous art-deco Burgh Island Hotel sits on the side nearest the shore, with the Pilchard Inn just alongside. The hotel is not open to nonresidents, except for prebooked, three-course, black-tie dinners.
