A friend of mine, Norma, had never been to the Scillies, and I was more than happy to accompany her on her first visit and show her how the islands work. We planned to do it in style, catching a plane from Newquay to St Marys, and then stay at the Karma hotel on St Martins, Friday to Monday
Unfortunately the flight I had looked forward to, from Newquay across Cornwall and over to the Scillies, was cancelled the day before, due to ‘operational difficulties’ and replaced by a taxi service to Lands End instead. It later appeared that there were all sorts of issues going on that weekend with transport options to the Scillies, with the only boat, Scillonian III, having broken down and only just limping back to Penzance on the Thursday, and all ferry crossings cancelled for at least Fri/Sat, possibly longer. There had been several flights cancelled too, whether because of mechanicals or planes re-directed we weren’t sure, but nothing we could achieve by complaining so we decided to accept the alternatives and get on with it
A lovely young chap drove us down to Lands End – he is starting a Masters in Aerospace in the Autumn, presumably earning some money over the summer. It turned out he came from Cranleigh, Surrey, which is where I lived from age 15 to 18. It seems that Cranleigh has grown since I was there – it has an M&S now – we never had that when I was there!
Our plane was an ‘Islander’ which carried 6 passengers, in a relatively tight space. Harry was in a dog box directly behind Norma and I, and accepted the indignity very gracefully, with only a small amount of shining before we started off. Mind you the engine noise was so loud once we took off, he would have had to make a big racket to have been heard!
We left the coast of Cornwall behind, including Lands End, the ‘attraction’ sitting on the headland, and the Longships lighthouse
The total flight was only 15 minutes, and so the Scillies came into view quite quickly
Norma saw St Martins as she was sitting on that side of the plane as we flew across to land on St Marys
Having spent some time travelling we decided to walk from St Marys airport, through Old Town, to Hugh Town, where the port was. We were too late for the 12.30 crossing to St Martins, and the next one was at 4pm, so we left our luggage in the unlocked luggage room on the pier, and wandered though Hugh Town
After a lovely lunch in the pub with a terrace overlooking the harbour we walked further around the coast, past the lifeboat house, and on to the next cove. Harry was glad of a chance to catch a ball and generally run around off lead. He did disappear a couple of times during the walk, once across a large house’s lawn, and another time though a hedge, but generally came back when called!
Back at the pier several boats came and went before we identified the boat going to St Martins (a little later than 4pm, but presumably on Cornish drekly timetabling). The crossing was relatively smooth, despite the winds which had been picking up, and we arrived at Lower Town quay next to the hotel. Sometimes the boats go to Higher Town quay, depending on tides and winds etc, but Lower Town is easier with the hotel looking out over the quay
After a welcoming drink we were shown to our respective rooms, before dumping cases and heading out again.
We followed the main (only) road from Lower Town, through Middle Town and past Higher Town. Why complicate matters with interesting place names?
At the end of the road we followed a very narrow path around some fields with electric fencing that Harry didn’t seem to feel, before heading out across the open moorland to the Daymark, a striking red and white warning structure. Apparently this is the earliest surviving beacon in the British Isles, dating from the 1680’s and 40 feet high. It used to have a door, but this was blocked up in the 1960’s, and inside is a spiral staircase, up to another level with two slit windows which are no longer accessible
Heading back towards Lower Town we were in awe of the views
Dinner was at the only pub on the island, the Sevenstones Inn, named after the Seven Stones making up the dangerous reef off between the Scillies and the Cornish mainland. There is a lighthouse now, to reduce the danger for shipping.
We only had a light dinner (‘Turkish tomato salad, which was a little odd, being mainly made up of onion), but it was nice to people watch, identifying ‘locals’ from visitors. As with all tourist places there is an army of workers who come to help for the season, but there did appear to be a group of young men who looked like they could make a good Cornish rugby side. They were probably more likely to be gig rowers – the Gig Rowing World Championship takes place in the Scillies on the first May bank holiday each year.
Apparently the 2021 census showed only 135 people permanently living on the island so the resident families presumably know each other well
Norma suggested a nightcap back at the hotel, which we enjoyed in the first floor lounge looking over the bay below us, a fitting end to the day
Wind and rain made itself felt overnight but the next day started with the sun shining, albeit with a sharp wind
Harry was pleased to get out and refreshed overnight from our 30k+ steps from the day before
After breakfast we headed out again from the hotel. The only boats leaving the island were to St Marys, arriving too late to catch boats to the other islands, so we were determind to make the most of our time on St Martins
The wind was blowing but the sun was still shining…
We thought we had found White Island, accessible only at low tide via a causeway
But soon realised that this was just a lot of rocks – White Island is more substantial, and the causeway had already been submerged by the tide
Opposite the island we found the Celtic maze – we had to walk the continuous path to the centre, despite the fact the the width was really only enough for a child’s footsteps. Harry, however, was captivated and went round and round, obviously following a scent
Looking out in to the bay we realised there was a seal looking at us. Unfortunately my phone was not powerful enough to get a picture, but we spent some time watching it and 3 or 4 others that appeared in the same bay – it was really good that we had seen the seals as we were not going to be able to get a boat out to the Eastern Isles as I had hoped as the weather was too rough
Following the costal path we came across another beautiful beach, full of white sand, untouched by another
Scrabbling back up to the path through a gap in the dunes we came across some impressive beef cows, grazing the area contained by virtual fences
Following the road we re-joined back to Higher Town we completed a figure 8 walk by heading down towards Higher Town quay. Adam’s Fish & Chip garden looked as pretty as I remembered – the owner was there doing some maintenance work, and admitted he didn’t have much to do with the design of the garden, and the tree he had planted in the middle was a lot bigger than expected! Despite the wind the plants on the island all seemed to flourish
Spotting another seal in a bay we made our way down to the beach and saw another 4 or 5. Norma managed to catch a photo:
Sitting on the sand we smiled through a sandblasting until we accepted it was silly to stay any longer, and resumed our walk
Walking around the headland to the Daymark the wind nearly took us down, but we battled on and made it. Harry got close to the edge on a number of occasions but seemed more sure footed than me!
Returning to the hotel we had all sorts of weather – sun, wind, even a quick sharp hail shower. The forecast had been rain and thunder so we had had a better than expected day
Back at the hotel we decided to have coffee/tea and cake in the garden as the sun was still shining, despite the wind. The hotel staff thought we were mad, but complied and delicious carrot cake it was too
Given the expected weather forecast we had booked a treatment in the spa in the afternoon, one after another. The all over massage was wonderful and helped relieve the aches from our walks, and relaxing. Dinner in the hotel and a relatively early night rounded off the day nicely
On the Sunday we had agreed to join a trip to Tresco, another island in the Scillies. Normally there is a boat from St Martins to St Marys at 9.15am, which would then enable catching a boat to one of the other islands, but because of the weather/wind the boats available from St Martins were cut down to a minimum, with no early boat. The hotel had booked a private faster boat to travel direct from St Martins to Tresco, returning late afternoon. At £30pp this was more expensive than the normal £7.50, but worth it.
Harry was enjoying sleeping on the bed, much more comfortable than the tiny blanket on the floor provided by the hotel (they didn’t have dog beds). He was not too keen on the fast boat to Tresco though, sailing from Higher Town on St Martins to New Grimsby on Tresco, so a good thing it took no time at all.
The coastal walk around Tresco is about 6 miles so we decided to head off on the path as soon as we docked, making for Cromwell’s castle, an artillery fort built towards the end of the English Civil War in 1652. It was a bit tricky with Harry on a lead getting to the top of the open staircase, and then a spiral staircase above that
From Cromwell’s Castle we climbed up to King Charles’s Castle on the clifftop above – this had been built around the 1550’s, similarly to defend the islands, but had proved unsatisfactory as the cannons couldn’t point down into the harbour, and so was replaced by Cromwell’s Castle the following century.
The views from the ruined castle down to its replacement, across to the uninhabited Hangman Island and on to Bryher were magnificent with the sun shining. Apparently there are a few rare occasions with the Spring tides when it is possible to walk from Tresco to Bryher. We didnt have time to visit Bryher during our weekend – an island to await another visit in the future, together with St Agnes
Walking towards the northern headland away from the Castles Harry lost his head chasing rabbit trails. We hadn’t seen signs of rabbits on Sty Martins (although we did actually see some later our return) but there was definitely evidence of their presence on Tresco. After losing Harry over the edge of the cliff I decided I had better put him back on the lead – whilst he may be sure footed, it was a long way down if he slipped!
Crossing back over the moorland we found a track over to the eastern side of Tresco, with some holiday accommodation and a lovely cafe around Ruin Beach, Old Grimsby
Whilst sitting enjoying the sun and generally relaxing we realised it was 1pm already. We were being picked up at 4.20pm and hadn’t yet made it to the famous botanical gardens – we decided that we had better not bother with the coastline of the southern tip of the island, but perhaps head inland so that we would have time to appreciate the plants, although we still managed to enjoy a bit more of the coastline first
Tresco Abbey Gardens were established in the 19th Century in what was then the private garden of Augustus Smith who built his home on Tresco, near to the old abbey ruins. Since then the collection of plants have been expanded, from all over the world, and have thrived in the local climate, helped by the extensive shelter band and walls around the site
The planting is enhanced by the viewing lines and statues
Obviously the beautiful weather definitely helped – it was very sunny and really quite warm. Walking back towards the harbour for our boat back I was pleased to find the New Inn and a beer
Back at the hotel we enjoyed a seat in the garden looking out over the bay
And then a well deserved cheeseburger and chips at the Sevenstones Inn, admiring the view, before the sunset back at the hotel
What a beautiful day…
Monday was time for the journey home. Originally we had booked a 4pm flight from St Marys to Newquay, but unfortunately this had been cancelled and the replacement flight was 1.10pm, to LandsEnd, the latest available with room for a dog. It was disappointing to leave earlier than expected, and not to experience the flight back to Newquay as I had hoped. We were told many possible reasons for these issues with the flights – lack of pilots; mechanical issues; re-routing planes to a new contract taken on servicing the Channel Islands.
Whatever the reason we weren’t the worse off. A family of four staying at the Karma had travelled to the airport on St Marys on the Saturday to return home after their visit, to be told that all flights had been cancelled because of the winds. They had to return to the hotel and stay another two nights, as all other flights on Sunday and Monday were full – they were hoping the Scillonian would be up and running again by the Monday. We saw the Scillonian in the harbour so assume a lot of people were relieved at being able to get home again!
The Islands were also running short of supplies (milk, bread, fruit and vegetables etc) and so the islanders would also be relieved to have their supply route restored
We travelled back to Lands End on a bigger plane than the flight out, this time carrying 16 passengers and a dog (a Twin Otter). Unfortunately we turned away from the Scillies from St Marys (rather than turning the other way and getting a view of the other islands as we had the last time I flew back with George). The crossing was smooth, although the landing a little bumpier!
The journey then back to home was smooth, with a taxi taking us to Newquay. The grey and rain that met us back in Holsworthy was disappointing! A thoroughly enjoyable weekend, and I am glad Norma enjoyed her first taster of the Islands.