A historic 6-acre island in South West England where Elizabethan explorer Sir Francis Drake set sail to circumnavigate the globe is up for sale — again.
Current owner, property developer Morgan Phillips, acquired the island off the coast of Plymouth, Devon, England, in 2019 for £6 million, or roughly $6.2 million at the time, according to the Daily Mail.
He intended to restore the island to enable visitors to enjoy it and plans called for building a luxury Caribbean-style, 43-bed hotel, museum and well-being center.
After failing to sell it in 2024 Phillips has put the property on the market, hoping someone can “take it forward.”
The current asking price wasn’t immediately clear, and Carter Jonas, the property consultancy marketing the site, wasn’t immediately reachable.
Pre-approved plans for the island — named for the English admiral who circumnavigated the globe from the location — the island features a series of underground tunnels.
The plan is to “identify anyone interested in purchasing the Island, who is also capable of taking it forward,” Philips told the Daily Mail.
Up until recently parts of the island, formerly known as St Nicholas Island, were open for guided tours.
The island found itself on the frontline during the English Civil War, helping shield Plymouth from a brutal siege before being transformed into a prison by Charles II in 1660.
For centuries it remained under military control, but by the 1960s it had reinvented itself as an adventure center — even attracting a young John F. Kennedy Jr, who learned to sail on the waters of Plymouth Sound.
Today, huge parts of the island are protected as ancient monuments, with four historic buildings earning Grade II-listed status. Its imposing fortifications and rich past have secured its reputation as a treasured heritage site.
Drake went on his epic globe-trotting voyage in 1577, returning three years later as a national hero. Queen Elizabeth I appointed him the island’s governor.
