Tag Archive: Isles of Scilly

August 17, 2016

Travelling Corner: The Sub-Tropical Archipelago of the Isles of Scilly (Part 2)

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, whilst today I will focus on practicalities.

St Mary 7

Plan
All the necessary information regarding visiting the Isles of Scilly can be found on this website and I also followed the essential guidebook: Isles of Scilly Guidebook.

St Mary 6

Travel
I travelled from Penzance to St. Mary’s Island by ferry, the Scillonian III. It takes around 2.45hrs to reach the destination and it is a rather pleasant (and a little bit wobbly) time to relax and read some guidebooks. Cars are not permitted on the ferry, so I left my car in a car park just outside Penzance and then took a minibus to the harbour in Penzance (these parking options were recommended when I booked the ferry tickets).

Scillonian

Sleep
I was camping on Garrison Campsite on St. Mary’s Island which was relatively cheap and conveniently located, very close to the harbour and Hugh Town. There is, however, a steep walk up the campsite, as it is on a hill. The campsite is surrounded by trees and you can go on a very pleasant walk around the hill. Worth noting, the shower runs only on coins. There are plenty of other accommodation options available on St. Mary’s and other isles.

St Mary 5

Food
I decided to mostly cook my meals or pre-prepare my own lunch boxes. The prices in the restaurants were quite high, as there is very little competition, but everything tastes exceptionally good. I particularly enjoyed my visit to the Abbey Garden’s café where you can eat alfresco.

St Mary 4

Local modes of transport
Legs, bus, bike, cart, taxi, boat. Considering the size of the isles, you might feel truly spoiled!

St Mary 9

Now, do you have any questions about my travelling to the Scilly Isles? Please share your questions in the comments below.
Written by Kinga Macalla

August 10, 2016

Book Review: Reading Companions to the Isles of Scilly

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.

Isles of Scilly Guidebook

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.

OS Explorer 101

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.

Cereal vol 5

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.

Drawing by Sue Lewington

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

July 20, 2016

Travelling Corner: The Sub-Tropical Archipelago of the Isles of Scilly (Part 1)

I decided to fulfil my dream and visit the British sub-tropical archipelago, the Isles of Scilly, located around 30 miles off the coast of Cornwall. The weather was beautiful and warm (sometimes even hot!!!), despite the not-always-optimistic weather forecasts.

St Mary 2

The archipelago of Scilly Isles is formed of 5 inhabited islands and 140 or so uninhabited. I stayed on St. Mary’s which is the largest and best connected island. Even if you stay just a week or so, you can easily bump into the same people throughout your stay and it takes only minutes to feel safe and like a local. People leave their unlocked bikes, boats and open-windowed cars on every corner and there is even a luggage storage room which nobody supervises (and it’s safe!). Even though St. Mary’s Island is the largest, I mainly walked everywhere, with one exception of the old-fashioned local bus no 664 which goes around the island (there are no bus stops and the driver announces each stop).

St Mary 8

St Mary 1

I also visited Tresco Island with its famous, spectacular Abbey Garden and beautiful white sand beaches (and quite warm sea). I also went to St. Martin’s and had a quiet and more relaxing time there.

Scilly Gardens

The archipelago of Scilly is a charming place which one could easily call a paradise. I know I could.

St Martin

I am planning to write two more articles, one on all the practicalities and the second on my reading recommendations. To be continued…
Written by Kinga Macalla