Dream Destination: Scilly Isles
LBC’s Rick Kelsey has taken off over the Atlantic to get to a little piece of England that’s unlike any other…
The Isles of Scilly are a compact archipelago of about a hundred islands, 28 miles southwest of Land's End. None is bigger than three miles across, and only five of them are inhabited – St Mary's, Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's and St Agnes.
In the annals of folklore, the Scillies are the peaks of the submerged land of Lyonesse, a fertile plain that extended west from Penwith before the ocean broke in, drowning the land and leaving only one survivor to tell the tale. In fact they form part of the same granite mass as Land's End, Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor, and despite rarely rising above a hundred feet, they possess a remarkable variety of landscape.
Points of interest include irresistible beaches, such as Parr Beach on St Martin's; the Southwest's greatest concentration of prehistoric remains; some fabulous rock formations; and the exuberant Tresco Abbey Gardens (daily 10am–4pm; £8.50). Along with tourism, the main source of income is flower-growing, for which the equable climate and the long hours of sunshine – their name means "Sun Isles" – make the islands ideal.
The profusion of wild flowers is even more noticeable than the fields of narcissi and daffodils, and the heaths and pathways are often dense with marigolds, gorse, sea thrift, trefoil and poppies, not to mention a host of more exotic varieties introduced by visiting foreign vessels. The waters hereabouts are held to be among the country's best for diving, while between May and September, on a Wednesday or Friday evening, the islanders gather for gig races, performed by six-oared vessels – some over a hundred years old and thirty feet in length.
Free of traffic, theme parks and amusement arcades, the islands are a welcome respite from the tourist trail, the main drawbacks being the high cost of reaching the islands and the shortage of accommodation, most of which is on the main isle of St Mary's. (Star Castle Hotel Tel: 01720 422317 www.star-castle.co.uk)
All the islands except Tresco have campsites, though these usually close in the winter; camping rough is not allowed. The islands are accessible by sea or air. Boats to St Mary's, operated by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group (Telephone0845/710 5555, Website: www.ios-travel.co.uk), depart from Penzance's South Pier between April and October, the crossing lasting about two and three-quarter hours. The main departure points for flights (also run by the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group) are Land's End, near St Just, Newquay, Exeter, Bristol and Southampton; in winter, there are departures only from Land's End and Newquay.
British International (Telephone01736/363871, Website: www.scillyhelicopter.co.uk) also runs helicopter flights (20min) to St Mary's and Tresco from the heliport a mile east of Penzance. Launches link each of the inhabited islands, though these are sporadic in winter. The tourist office is in Hugh Town, St Mary's (Easter– Oct Mon– Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm; Nov– Easter Mon– Fri 9am–5pm; Telephone01736/422536, Website: www.simplyscilly.co.uk).