Most people visit on a day trip, but stay longer to fully immerse yourself in the wild solitude of this rugged isle off the Devon coast

The last time we came to Lundy was by ferry from Ilfracombe. The journey took two hours and once we rounded Hartland Point the Atlantic waves rolled in and about 50% of the passengers started vomiting.

This time the MS Oldenburg is in for annual maintenance, so me and a group of six friends are whisked to the island in a small helicopter from the north-western tip of Devon in seven minutes. I don’t miss the vomiting, but I regret not having the sense of temporal acclimatisation to what has been, for much of its history, a slightly different world.

Actor and comedian says it would be ‘classy’ move if British Museum returned the ancient sculptures to Greece

Stephen Fry has likened the removal of the Parthenon marbles from Greece to Nazi Germany stealing the Arc de Triomphe during the occupation of France, and he thinks it would be “classy” if the British Museum returned the ancient sculptures to their original home.

Fry made the comments on the Australian TV series Stuff the British Stole, which airs on the ABC on Monday night.

Project will examine Sutton Bank’s rich history, including German aristocrats and a bloody 14th-century battle

Today, Sutton Bank is as peaceful and tranquil a spot as you might find anywhere, offering visitors what has been called “England’s finest view”. But could it also have an untold history involving rich German aristocrats and a Nazi spy?

A three-year archaeology project has begun to investigate the many histories of the landmark, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire.

The vessel, which sank off the coast of Canada in 1962, was used by the explorer on his final voyage to the continent

The wreck of the ship on which renowned Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton died has been found off the coast of Labrador, Canada, searchers have announced.

Locating the Quest – a schooner-rigged steamship which sank on a 1962 seal hunting voyage – represents a last link to the “heroic age of Antarctic exploration”, said search leader John Geiger.

The ecological jewel of Kerry Marine national park and the archaeological splendour of Brú na Bóinne in the east are the latest additions to the country’s portfolio of protected areas

Ireland’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has had a busy time in recent months, adding another two sites to its portfolio of six national parks since last September. First, it announced the state purchase of 223 hectares (551 acres) of land on the Dowth Hall estate in County Meath. Then, on Earth Day in April, it unveiled its first marine park – 566 hectares centering on Corca Dhuibhne – the Dingle Peninsula – and including Conor Pass, a vertiginous narrow laneway that whips around the contours of Mount Brandon in County Kerry.