I and fourteen other tourists and day trippers are gathered at the barbican landing, at the docking station, from where our ferry will soon set sail for the 11am guided tour.
We are a diverse group.
Among us ; a married couple from colchester and their two hyperactive toddlers, a retired serviceman, two students who drove here from somerset, an elderly lady who earlier seemed very interested in knowing the Island’s purchase price, and an elderly man who wore running sunglasses the entire time.
All of us boarded the ferry for a 15-minute bumpy boat trip to Drake's Island.
Last night I checked into Cassandra's guest house. Cassadra’s guest house has a 4.5 rating on trip advisor.
It's an ensuite on the second floor of a three-story terrace apartment. I booked it for two nights, with breakfast included.
My room came with a work desk the size of a coffee table, and a shared balcony with a 'no smoking sticker' on the opening door.
The view from my balcony was of a quiet and dead-end street.
But this is meant to be “Britain’s Ocean City”.
If it's a humbling view of the coastline you are after, stay at one of the other beachfront hotels and guest houses.
I'll recommend you stay at either, the Fox on the Hoe or at 1 Elliot Terrence.
There are 7 Michelin restaurants in the city of Plymouth, spoil yourself with one.
But my visit here is more of an assignment than an actual city break, and Cassandra’s guest house suits my kind of pit-stop / day trip assignment.
I arrived at Plymouth coach station last night after a 7 hour ride on the national express from Northamptonshire. My checkout is tomorrow at 10 am.
I’m barebone tired.
But I have bought myself a ticket for a boat ride and signed up for a Drake’s Island tour.
Guns were placed here in anticipation for the Spanish Armada, the time a hundred and more spanish war ships came round the south of England and up its channel.
The island itself was named after the man who was active during this time, explorer and native son of Plymouth, Sir Francis Drake.
They say Drake set sail from this very same 6.5 acre scrap of island, to become the first Englander to circumnavigate the planet.
Incendiary bombs would rain down on the island during WW2.
And even before all this, before the place reverted back into nature's mossy fold.
The earliest mentioned occupants of the island were a holy bunch. A chapel stood here instead of this decaying army barrack, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors.
I agree, you couldn’t write a more swashbuckling pedigree for a place.
“They say if you smell roses that Lady Mary is near. She is the matriarch of all the spirits on the Island.”
Dr Peter Alan, Tour guide
Local mediums say that ghosts, about 15 of them, still roam the high mounds and deep tunnels of the island.
I say ghosts are just stories from the past that we continue to tell ourselves.
The reality is – this is an island that was deserted for nearly 30 years, but stories about its rich history and the people who worked and lived on it have remained relevant, and the rest faded into urban myth.
In 2020, Drakes Island’s Guided Tours reopened the island to the public.
Before entering the network of old military tunnels that map underneath the island, our tour guide made sure to prep us with some ghost stories about the island, right after he took a quick headcount and we began to descend.
Like subterranean moths, we trailed closely around the only source of artificial light from the rechargeable torch of our tour guide - pointing forward.
Inside, our tour guide turned off his torchlight, briefly, so we could see how dark the tunnels get.
It was dark as dark can be.
And then we were out again, exploring the rest of the island.
There have been talks to turn it into something else, maybe a park, a boutique hotel, a casino resort complete with its own helipad.
It was previously owned by Mr Dan Mccauley, the former chairman of Plymouth Argyle FC.
In 1995 he bid for the Island and had it for the price of £384,000. Mr Dan McAuley struggled to get building permission from Plymouth City Council.
His plans to develop the island were held back in a legal battle that lasted him two decades. Both times, in 2003 and 2013 he applied to start building but was refused
There are sea horses in the seagrass, egrets and species of bats are among the current occupants of Drakes Island - and some people want to protect the wild life against the sort of development that might intrude on it.
Mr Dan Mccauley continued to tweak and adjust his construction plan to suit the conditions the council laid for him.
In 2017 he finally was permitted to build something new and existing on the island. But then maybe it was fatigue, he resold the island in 2019.
Its newest owner bought it for a reported £6 million.
Mr Morgan Philip owns the island now.
He is responsible for its reopening, he is letting us tour his property. He plans to keep Drakes Island as a heritage centre, with a new hotel and a row of Airbnb in the double-size encampments where the naval artillery used to be.
And if it's possible, he wants to locate the foundations of the old chapel, and rededicate the Island to the saints, so as to host weddings here.
Any future development on the island could cost upwards of £22 million.
As for the question of whether it can become one of Devon’s next-best tourist destinations, the developer is willing to stake his million-pound bet on the idea.
“Plymothians like to see it in its raw state..but the island does needs developing"
Dr Peter Alan, Tour guide
To try and sum up my experience of visiting Drakes Island, and to give a complete impression from all that I've learnt about the place, and seen of its history, I agree the place needs development.
The island is currently listed under the Heritage at Risk Programme.
This programme flags and lists historical sites in England thought to be in poor condition or needing urgent maintenance.
I could also argue for the environmentalist point that wildlife needs to be preserved more, however, with development plans already underway, it is evident that some kind of compromise has already been met.
The sea is also a character in this story.
It seems to always attract two types of outsiders, tourists and investors, both of whom come to harness its scenic beauty, natural gifts and crucial climate for their benefit - and the locals live to tell the story.
And so, we walked down the gangway, back the way we came, to the ferry, and away from Drakes Island.
Published: 10/06/2024
Written by Dan O. Eboka
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