DESTINATIONS ISLES OF SCILLY | UK & IRELAND Scilly seasonRichard Mellor finds peace, quiet and an old-school charm in England’s southernmost isles espite being only Skybus, although these flights are 28 miles from weather-dependent (from £125 Cornwall, the Isles return, islesofscilly-travel.co.uk). of Scilly (pronounced ‘silly’) Ditto helicopter connections from dare wholly escapist. Rather than Land’s End to St Mary’s, with a chain supermarkets, traffic jams Penzance-Tresco service due to or noise pollution, these 140 start in spring 2020. slow-paced specks – of which Most reliable is the Scillonian only five are inhabited – promise III ferry’s daily, three-hour lily-white beaches, Caribbean- crossing from Penzance (from colour coral, see-through seas, £48 return), though, due to a subtropical gardens and Britain’s shallow draught, this sometimes warmest climate. choppy journey isn’t for those There’s a good food scene, lots with shaky stomachs. of walking and, most enchantingly, an innocent, villagey vibe: doors ST MARY’S are left unlocked, and everyone The largest isle, and home to says ‘hello’. about 80% of Scillonians, pretty Not that this is a 20th-century St Mary’s is where most Scilly trips time warp. Wi-Fi and mobile- start. In twee ‘capital’ Hugh Town, phone reception are the norm, narrow streets house boutiques and many hotels and cottages and live-music pubs. Close by, are decidedly luxurious. That the Juliet’s Garden restaurant has goes some way to explaining superb views over Hugh Town’s the high prices, along with the harbour towards the previously journey from southwest England. inhabited island of Sansom. Quickest – and most See: Ex-prime minister Harold exciting – is riding in a twin- Wilson visited St Mary’s each engine plane from Land’s End, summer; his modest grave can Newquay or Exeter to main be seen at the Old Town Church. island St Mary’s on the so-called Older still are Iron Age ➣ 44 23 MAY 2019 travelweekly.co.uk travelweekly.co.uk 23 MAY 2019 45 DESTINATIONS ISLES OF SCILLY | UK & IRELAND and Romano-British settlements, THIS PAGE: Abbey local artist Richard Pearce’s Golden and Bronze Age burial tombs at Garden, Tresco; puffin; Eagle Studio gallery can be visited BOOK IT Innisidgen. It’s possible to drive, walkers in St Mary’s Top tip with advance notice. walk or cycle to all of them in a FACING PAGE: Hugh Stay: There’s a campsite and two Premier Holidays has a day. Active types can also enjoy 30 Town, St Mary’s Book early. The Isles of Scilly guesthouses, but the best option is seven-night island-hopping miles of nature trails, or horse riding PICTURES: Chris Ogilvie; Isles of get lots of repeat bookings, so Hell Bay. Decked out in the same tour combining St Mary’s, Scilly Tourist Board/Phil Nicholls, style as Tresco’s self-catering St Martin’s and Tresco along unspoilt coastline. Rather Susan Cox; adjbrown.com; availability can be limited even more hedonistic are the tasting Steven Burbidge options – tongue-and-groove walls (staying at the New Inn), sessions offered at Holy Vale, eight to 10 months in advance and nautical-themed paintings – it from £979 per person, Britain’s most southerly vineyard. has original Barbara Hepworths including return ferries Stay: The Scillies’ grandest place on the walls and a fine-dining from Penzance, with to stay? That’ll be the eight-pronged restaurant. The hotel’s minimum transfers payable locally. Star Castle, set beside Hugh Town age has risen to 14 this year, and a trade.premierholidays. and originally built as a fortress to yoga studio and expanded garden co.uk deter the Spanish Armada. There now accompany the pool. are a few rooms in the atmospheric Prestige Holidays has castle itself and spacious garden ST AGNES & ST MARTIN’S a seven-night package, quarters in grounds across the moat, St Agnes’s population of just 85 Farm sells delicious, unusually Great Bay or Par – off which Scilly staying at Hell Bay in plus two high-end restaurants. guarantees a wonderfully soporific flavoured ice cream – the rose Seal Snorkelling runs excursions. Bryher and Tresco’s air. Skulking above its quay is the geranium is recommended. Clients Stay: At Troytown Farm, an old self-catering Sea Garden TRESCO tempting Turks Head pub, while can also walk to the stone stacks at croft, a cottage and a flat in the Cottages, from £1,599 per Home to the isles’ biggest single flowery lanes lead to farms. Secluded Wingletang Down or across a tidal main farmhouse can be rented by person, including return attraction, Abbey Garden, posh accommodation ideal for families. three excellent dining venues, BRYHER St Martin’s is similarly peaceful, and sandbar to empty isle Gugh. self-caterers. On St Martin’s, the ferries from Penzance. and privately-owned Tresco has a There are no cars – people stroll, including the convivial New Inn. The wildest of the inhabited Scillies, revered for its fine shores. Visitors to St Martin’s should plush Karma St Martin’s is a luxury Transfers payable locally. manicured vibe and self-catering cycle or drive golf buggies – and See: Warm Gulf Stream air enables Bryher is ringed by a thrilling coast See: St Agnes’s teeny Troytown make for sandy beaches such as beachside resort. TW ukprestigeholidays.co.uk Abbey Garden to grow subtropical path that bounces past sandy plants and succulents from 80 exotic beaches and, along the wild west countries. Rehabilitated red squirrels shore, jagged, frothy Atlantic scamper about too, and there’s a coves into which breakers crash small gallery of figureheads rescued relentlessly. And yet here is where from shipwrecks. Farther south are you’ll find the islands’ classiest vast white-sand beaches, while hotel-restaurant, Hell Bay, plus the Tresco’s wilder northern end boasts fun Crab Shack and a friendly main walkable moorland and the ruins of village set along leafy lanes. It’s two 17th-century castles. The harbour possible to walk across to Tresco is a starting point for gig races. during spring tides, with Low Tide Stay: A feast of whites and wicker Festivals sometimes held on the furniture, Tresco’s luxurious self- exposed sandbar. catering or B&B options are divided See: Bryher is particularly good across the two villages, Old and for spring wildflowers, autumnal New Grimsby. As well as good blackberries and October dining, the New Inn offers simple, birdwatching. Kayaks can be rented affordable accommodation. from Bennett’s Boatyard, while SELLING TIPS St Mary’s: “There are lots of dog-friendly accommodation options on St Mary’s,” says Beverley Scarr, short-haul general manager at Premier Holidays. “Some beaches are open to dogs year-round and pooches can even travel with their owners on the Skybus from Land’s End or Newquay.” Tresco: “Families love Tresco and its safe beaches,” says Rachael Kellard, Prestige Holidays’ product manager for its Closer to Home programme. “Tresco’s self-catering Sea Garden Cottages have a resort feel and are great for family groups thanks to an on-site swimming pool, hot tub and sauna, gym, tennis and sailing school.” Bryher: “Autumn is a fantastic season to visit. October brings some incredible sunsets and days are mostly still warm,” says Beverley Scarr of Premier Holidays. 46 23 MAY 2019 travelweekly.co.uk travelweekly.co.uk 23 MAY 2019 47.