Isles of Scilly Guide
Isles of Scilly (Enesek Syllan)
The Scilly Islands are a group of 140 small islands, 28 miles off the southern coast of Cornwall. Only five of these idyllic, away-from-it-all places are inhabited: St. Mary's (the largest), Tresco, Bryher (population less than 100 people), St. Martin's and St. Agnes.
Things to do on the islands include enjoying the fine beaches, walking and visiting several prehistoric sites.
Regular ferries connect the populated islands which can also be reached by plane from Newquay Cornwall (NQY) and Land's End airports or a choppy 2-hour, 45-minute ferry ride from Penzance (in the summer months only).
History
The Isles of Scilly are formed out of the same granite that is found on both Dartmoor and Bodmin moors in Devon and Cornwall on the mainland.
The islands were occupied during the Bronze and Iron ages and several relics of this ancient history can still be found today.
There are stone burial sites at Porth Hellick, Bant's Carn Burial Chamber and Halangy Down Ancient Village and Innisidgen Lower and Upper Burial Chambers all on St. Mary's.
Once part of the ancient kingdom of Kernow (Cornwall), the Isles of Scilly were conquered by the English in the 10th century. Their strategic importance guarding the entrance to the English Channel and the south coast has long been recognized.
In its early history the islands were also occasionally raided by both Vikings and Barbary pirates.
During the English Civil War in the mid-17th century the islands were contested by Royalists and Parliamentarians.
On Tresco King Charles's Castle stands virtually opposite Cromwell's Castle as legacies of the conflict.
Attractions
Time seems to stand still on the Isles of Scilly. The main attractions are spending time on the islands' fine beaches, walking and various water sports.
Over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend visitors can see the traditional gig races between the main islands.
Tresco Abbey Garden on Tresco is described as a Kew Gardens without glass. It boasts myriad exotic plants, many of which would be impossible to grow on the Cornish mainland, less than 30 miles away. Even in winter there are more than 300 plants in flower here. The tropical garden boasts more than 20,000 species of plants from all around the world.
St Mary's
St Mary's is by far the most populated island of the archipelago with around 1,600 inhabitants. The majority of the islands' hotels, restaurants and other tourist facilities are here.
Hugh Town is the main centre and port with several restaurants, pubs, shops and cafes.
The Isles of Scilly Museum in Hugh Town has displays on the history of the islands from Neolithic times to the present. The museum also exhibits salvaged from the wreck of HMS Association which went down, along with three other ships, in bad weather off the Scilly Islands in 1707 with the loss of 1,450 men. The museum is currently based at the Town Hall and in various pop-up exhibitions across the islands, while it searches for a new home.
South west of Hugh Town is Old Town and here in St. Mary's Church is the grave of former British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson (1916-1995).
Ted Heath, another British Prime Minister and political opponent of Wilson, also loved the Scilly Islands and there are exhibits on his life and connections to the islands in the Isles of Scilly Museum.
Telegraph Tower on Newford Down was built in 1814. Now a private residence, it is a familiar landmark.
There are various walking and wildlife tours on the island. Inquire at the tourist office on Porthcressa Beach south of Hugh Town.
St Mary's is also the largest island in the archipelago.
Tresco
Tresco is best known for Tresco Abbey Garden and the adjacent Valhalla Museum.
The latter has a collection of 30 ship's figureheads in addition to other ship's carvings and name boards. Also on display are cannon raised from the ships of Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet that went down in 1707.
The sub-tropical Tresco Abbey Garden was laid out in 1834 by Augustus Smith on the site of a Benedictine Priory, the ruins of which form the backdrop to the over 20,000 plants including cacti and palms.
Tresco is car-free with electric vehicles used to transport visitors.
Byrher
Byrher has a population of less than 100 people. The island is often hit by Atlantic storms and Hell's Bay is so-called for the number of shipwrecks off the coast. A favourite of birdwatchers, Bryher is home to several species of Gulls, Kittiwakes, and Razorbills.
St Martin's
The most northerly of the islands, St Martin's has some fine beaches. Lawrence's Bay and Great Bay are the pick of the bunch, with the latter probably the best beach on the islands. There is a vineyard too producing some fine white wines.
The three main settlements are conveniently Higher Town, Middle Town and Lower Town.
St Agnes
The southernmost populated island, St Agnes is connected to the smaller island of Gugh by a sandbar.
This is Cornwall and England at its most remote. There are a number of ancient burial sites to explore on both St Agnes and Gugh.
The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 took place off the coast. The body of the fleet's commander Cloudesley Shovell washed up at Porthellick Cove on St Mary's. A memorial stone marks the spot. The loss of so many men led to the search to discover how to accurately determine longitude at sea. John Harrison's H4 pocket watch (Harrison sea clock) eventually solved the problem.
Access - Getting To The Isles of Scilly
Air
There are Skybus flights to the Scilly Isles from Exeter, Newquay and Land's End airports.
Newquay Cornwall Airport
Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) has flights to St Mary's Airport on St Mary's on the Isles of Scilly.
Newquay Cornwall Airport also has flights to Bristol Airport, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, Manchester Airport, Newcastle and international flights to Cork and Dublin in Ireland. There are also seasonal flights to Alicante in Spain with Ryanair and Dusseldorf in Germany with Lufthansa.
Exeter International Airport
Exeter International Airport, in Exeter in Devon, also has flights to St Mary's Airport. It has connecting flights to Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Guernsey/Jersey, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle as well. International destinations also include Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Funchal, Hannover, Larnaca, Nice, Palma, Paris, Malaga and Salzburg.
Ferry
There is a passenger ferry from Penzance to the Scilly Isles. The Scillonian III passenger ferry takes between 2 hours 40 minutes and 3 hours. It operates in the summer months. (Timetable)
Ferries connect the main inhabited islands.
Road & Rail to the Southwest
Exeter, located at the end of the M5 motorway, coming south from Bristol makes for a good starting point if you are driving into Cornwall. Exeter is also a good place to hire a car.
From Exeter follow the A30 dual carriageway, north of Dartmoor through Okehampton, Launceston, Bodmin and Penzance.
Alternatively take the A38, which skirts the southern edge of Dartmoor, through Plymouth and Saltash on in to Cornwall, where it joins the A30 at Bodmin.
Exeter's main railway station is Exeter St David's Station with rail links to Bristol, Birmingham and London Paddington Station as well as on to Plymouth.
Helicopter
Helicopter flights to Tresco and St Mary's have resumed after a lengthy hiatus. The journey takes just 15 minutes from Penzance Heliport and the flights are operated by Penzance helicopters (penzancehelicopters.co.uk).
Penzance Heliport is just off the A30 at Jelbert Way and a mile from Penzance railway station. The Night Riviera Sleeper Service connects Paddington Station in London to Penzance overnight.
Accommodation
St Mary's offers the most accommodation options. All the inhabited islands offer accommodation of one sort or another including camp sites.
Some recommended places to stay on St Mary's include the Star Castle Hotel, Tregarthen's Hotel, The Atlantic Inn, Mincarlo, St Mary's Hall Hotel and Appletree.
All are in or around Hugh Town. The Star Castle Hotel is the most luxurious with a heated indoor swimming pool and restaurant. Several of the other hotels listed will provide breakfast.
On St Martin's the Karma St Martin's offers free WiFi and gardens leading to the sand dunes.
See here for a complete listing of accommodation on the Isles of Scilly.
Cornwall Related
Isles of Scilly Map
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