Incredible time-warp island off UK coast has been reclaimed by nature – and it’ll take your breath away
A STUNNING time-warp island off the coast of the UK is taking visitors’ breath away.
Stack Rock Fort off Milford Haven is so peaceful and undisturbed that it has effectively been reclaimed by nature.
Sitting just off the Pembrokeshire coast, the fort is now inhabited by gulls and weeds having long been deserted.
The island castle was built between 1850 and 1852 to protect against an invasion by sea.
The Royal Dockyard at Pembroke Dock was deemed in need of further defences in case of an invasion from France under Napoleon III.
During World War I it was manned by just a small number of soldiers and eventually disarmed in 1929.
Tourist and photographer Steve visited the beautiful nature spot and told the BBC: “It doesn’t seem real… it looks like a film set, something from Jumanji or something like that.
“When you first walk through it takes your breath away.
“It’s like a huge cathedral, an oval shape, completely overgrown with these sea birds circling it.
“It is a complete time capsule with massive cannons inside.
“There’s weeds and ivy growing all over it which sort of adds to it more than anything, I think.”
The property has been bought by Anoniiem, a community interest company, which plans to preserve it as a “living ruin”.
Company director Nick said: “We want to preserve it in its current state, not in its formal use, so if it can be stabilised as it is, in this amazing combination of nature and architecture, that’s the goal.”
While looking in to the area, Nick and his wife stumbled upon the fort and were blown away by its “fantasy and magic”.
They partnered with another company who hoped to turn it into a community space and have not looked back.
He added: “It’s definitely a passion project, it’s definitely not a money earner, there’s no plans for a five-star hotel or any of these kind of things.
“It’s a stabilisation accessibility project and preserving it for the future.”
But there are a number of challenges with looking after such a location.
There are also issues around security, which have been referred to the police.
And the fort island is notoriously difficult to access, and can only be visited in certain conditions by boat.
Nick said: “People have been lighting bonfires on there. It’s not safe for the schedule monument itself but also for the people who are breaking in.
Nick has a team of volunteers working to help secure the structure but admits they are “a lifetime away” from being able to open it up to the public.
Despite the overwhelming scale of the project he is undeterred.
He said: “It’s a hell of a project. It’s been effectively untouched for 100 years so the preservation is on another level.
“The fact that that nature is taking over again is part of the appeal of it, it’s all aesthetically so incredible.”