I decided to fulfil my dream of visiting the British sub-tropical archipelago, the Isles of Scilly, located around 30 miles off the coast of Cornwall. You can read more about my travelling experience here and today I want to share with you what inspired me to visit the Isles and what reading souvenirs I brought back home.

Isles of Scilly Guidebook
Essential. I walked everywhere with this guidebook. I had an older edition I had bought in a charity shop which was thinner than the more updated ones. If you want to purchase the latest publication, you can do so on the ferry Scillonian III or on the Isles.

OS Explorer Isles of Scilly (101)
Additional touch. To be honest, I did not use the OS map that much, the above guidebook was all I needed when visiting the Isles.

Cereal Vol. 5
Inspiring. Tresco Abbey Garden, birds, photo essay. Beautiful.
The Rough Guide to Devon & Cornwall
Practical. There is a chapter devoted to the Isles of Scilly worth reading, but I would not carry it to the Isles.

Drawings by Sue Lewington
Artistic. I bought two books of her drawings, A Week on Scilly and Sketches of Scilly. Sue lived on St. Martin’s for nearly 8 years. You can easily get her drawings on the Isles, too.

Times Remembered. A Scillonian’s Story by Gladys Perkins
Local history. I bought a memorial written by a Scillonian, Gladys Perkins after visiting St. Martin’s Island. The book was advertised in the windows of most houses on St. Martin’s, since the author was born and is still living on this very Island!

Do you have any favourite guidebooks or fiction writing on the Scilly Isles? Please share your recommendations in the comments below.

Written by Kinga Macalla