The Scillies are off thewest coast of Cornwall, which is the southwestern part ofEngland. From Penzance it takes 3 hours by boat to reach theisles of Scilly. The first map shows where they are, and thesecond (itself a link to a larger map) shows the islesthemselves:
On the way we stopped inMarazion, a peaceful small town in the West Cornwall, facingonto one of a beautiful wide stretch of a sandy beach. Itconsists of several quaint narrow streets, and the glimpsesof the sea around every corner remind show the town'sdramatic neighbour - the island of St Michael's Mount.
Our stay was only 4 day long, but it was long enoughto fall in loves with the "fortunate islands". I can now seevery well why people keep going back year after year, and Iam already looking forward to the next meeting - and thelong deserted cliff walks, sun-bathing on the white sandbeaches, snorkeling with the seals, diving, friendliness ofthe islanders, and the beauty and the tranquility of theisles. The photos below shows the harbour of St Mary's atlow tide, and a beach at St Martyn's.
The isles are a place of ancient things, strange memories, and alluring beauty. Settlements from 2000 BC have lefttheir traces in forms of villages and burial carns;unfortunate shipwrecks have left their parts and loads for the fortunate divers; luckily, tourists still haven't left anything but their money, and the atmosphere of theplace is unspoiled and timeless. So is its nature.
The stone formations are impressive; here's Andreas on therocks, and a petrified turtle, and Silvija at the very edge.
And some more rocks in the sunset.
Seals live among the western and eastern rocks; sea puffins and tens of other bird species chose the same rocks to breed. The fish is plentiful, and there are even afew basking sharks in sight.
The cormorant is easy to spot, but can you find the seal?
The ambiance of the isles is a rarity in these times - uponarrival one has to tune in to a different world, and to slowdown and forget about the stress of the normallife "over there". There is no choice but to relax. Theholiday activities consist of walking, diving, fishing, reading,island hopping, and then some more of the same.
Tresco is the second largest island; it takes about 4 hoursto do a round-walk, and the island has two castles and anabbey with a fantastic botanical garden.
Andreas and some flora and fauna.
These are some of the front figures found in the watersaround the islands - the difficult tidal conditions and theshallow rocks have defeated many a captain.
The islanders don't lock their houses;the cars are left with the keys in the ignition; on thesecond thought, where would one go with a stolen car anyway.People still remember the last crime which was commited some4-5 years ago, when someone broke into some kind of a pay-boxand got away with a bag of 50 pence coins. After a day ortwo, one knows about half the people on the islands, as onekeeps meeting them in Hugh town or on the boats.
The food is good - especially the crab sandwiches are great,and the homemade cornish pastry and clotted cream fudge areexcellent as well. They have good local fish and ales, andthe hotel On out way home, we stopped at Polperro, an oldfishing and smugling village in Cornwall. Somewhat touristythese days. But definitely charming.
Dartmoor, and a picnic with these friendly wild horses.
And an old stone bridge on the way:
And then the long way home.
A good starting point for some more info on Scilly is
Silvija Seres, September 2000
