Spotlight on The Scilly Isles
Shubhra from Prestige Holidays shares with us her recent experiences of visiting the islands. The Isles of Scilly is an archipelago around 30 miles off the south-western tip of England. Though numbering 50 islands in total, only 5 are inhabited. There are options to fly via helicopter (15 minutes from Penzance) or Skybus flight – however, I boarded the 2.5 hours on the Scillonian Ferry from Penzance to St Marys.
Each day, I took a boat to the different islands. Each one offers something unique and different. Travelling to the Isles of Scilly is like travelling back in time. It’s laid-back, relaxed, scenic & completely tranquil. The waters are crystal-clear, the nature is abundant with so many species of flower, fauna, birds & insects. I was very lucky to have travelled on the Eastern Isles Cruise to see what must have been over 80 seals in the wild. Travelling on this small cruise (usually holds about 35), it is 1.5 hours trip sailing around to the uninhabited islands where the Atlantic grey seal colonies and a variety of seabirds can be found.
|
|
|
Another day saw me sailing to St.Martins. At just 2 miles long, this was a phenomenal sight with beautiful long stretches of powdery fine-white sandy beach. The water is sparkling clear blue. I can see why it is mistaken for the Caribbean. Walking around, there is an abundance of flowers along the winding road. A community that is so small of only 130 people who wave and are friendly (and obviously all know each other).
|
|
|
Sailing to St.Agnes is an unspoilt & astonishingly beautiful island joined to its neighbouring island Gugh by a sand bar at low-tide. Here the terrain is so mixed from rocky outcrops in the west to hidden paradise coves in the east, joined by a patchwork of flower fields and farmland. For pure nature-lovers, this is a great place to find an abundance of wildlife. A real treat was finding the Isles of Scilly shrew – not something easily found.
It was great to stop at the infamous Turks Head for the traditional Cheese Ploughmans Lunch. Finally, one of the highlights of my trip was visiting Tresco Island which is privately owned. With its long silver beaches & historic sites including King Charles Castle – a coastal artillery fort dating back to the 16th century, truly a magnificent site. For me, visiting the Abbey Gardens was my aspiration and did not disappoint. It is home to a huge collection of exotic plants from all over the world. This terraced sub-tropical garden boasts an astonishing collection from over 75 countries. It is described as a “Perennial Kew without the glass” and home to over 80 species of plants and flowers. Many of which could not thrive on the mainland. A nature-lovers paradise.  Dining was incredible with so much emphasis on organic & fresh produce. With the water in abundance around the islands, seafood and locally-caught fish is order of the day…all prepared & cooked to a high level with attention to detail. I got to visit the locally award-winning gin distillery & sample the goods – all obviously for work purposes. They truly are a self-sufficient destination. To ensure I truly sampled the Isles of Scilly, I met with a number of locals and even went out on a few evenings with the youth & the elders also meeting the 1 of 3 policemen working on the islands. The overall conclusion was that they loved their islands, the going-back-in-time, the beauty, the independence & the safety were all attributes to how these islands run so efficiently. If you would like to follow in Shubhra's footsteps, please do get in touch and we would be delighted to help you with this or any other destination you are thinking of visiting; Eton Wokingham Leisure Team TEL- 01189 979 2555 Email - wleisure@eton-travel.co.uk
|