Pitcairn Islands Holiday

The forsaken island of Pitcairn is a mere dot in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, but it is a dot with a chequered and enthralling past which still fascinates the world today.

Britain's most isolated dependency is not on any international air routes and is quite honestly a chore to get to, although this historic yet troubled gem in the South Pacific would certainly be one for the adventurous traveller to scrub off their list.

The Pitcairn Islands are in fact a group of four islands, banished to the middle of the Pacific to sit only on a few shipping lanes halfway between New Zealand and Peru.

However, the islands' destiny was changed forever with the arrival of a certain crew of mutineers aboard a ship named the Bounty.

Captain Bligh's adversaries on board the infamous Bounty went missing for 19 years following the oft-recalled mutiny in the south seas, although it was later discovered the nine men – led by Fletcher Christian – set up home on Pitcairn to avoid the wrath of the British Navy.

After burning the Bounty they, along with six Tahitian men, 12 Tahitian women and a child, set up their new home on the main island in 1790.

Most of Pitcairn's current 46 inhabitants are directly descended from the crew and their wives, although most, including Christian and all of the Tahitian men, were dead within ten years.

Although peaking at 233 before World War Two, today's population has dwindled and fallen to below 50, as the younger generation desperately try to leave the island for the shores of New Zealand and Australia.

Despite Pitcairn's undoubted natural beauty, formed from the lush volcanic soil and hilly forested centre, life on the main island is rather out of the ordinary.

But for the determined traveller, life on an almost deserted island with locals who still speak a hybrid language of 18th-century sea-faring dialect and old Tahitian is a once in a lifetime experience.

Transport to the island is limited, although most visitors pick up a passing yacht from Mangareva in French Polynesia. There are two passenger ships, but these leave very infrequently.

Once at the island, transport to the land must be arranged, as the notoriously difficult seas do not allow large boats access to the shore.

The other three islands are uninhabited, but registered protected World Heritage Sites thanks to their huge amounts of rare birdlife and flora.

However, Pitcairn Island does have many interesting peculiarities and sights of its own to see – including Christian Fletcher's bible (kept in a glass box in the local church), the anchor from the Bounty and some of the most amusing and (un)inventive place names in the world.

Be sure to cross Bang On Iron; Bitey-Bitey; Break Im Hip; Hill of Difficulty; John Catch-a-Cow; Oh Dear and Little George Cocknuts off your list.

The Pitcairn Islands offer a different take on life in the 21st century, with just one phone on the island, a handful of people and the main trade up until a few years ago being in stamps.

But the world has sat up and noticed the small dependency over recent years, as four of the men on the island – almost one fifth of Pitcairn's workforce – were arrested on charges of rape and child molestation, some dating back 40 years.

The independent nature of the island means many modern social and ethical boundaries have not been enforced, inevitably leading to trouble in paradise.