Isles of Scilly

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About Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of around 140 small islands and rocks lying 28 miles off Land's End, of which five are inhabited. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, they boast white-sand beaches, sub-tropical gardens and a relaxed pace of life centred on Hugh Town on St Mary's.

The story of Isles of Scilly

The Scillies were a single landmass in the Stone Age before rising seas flooded the channels between the islands, and prehistoric field systems still appear at low tide on the seabed. Tresco Abbey Garden was begun in the 1830s by Augustus Smith, who leased the island and established a remarkable collection of subtropical plants from the southern hemisphere, sheltered by windbreaks of Monterey pine. The islands' pilot gigs, used since the 18th century to pilot ships through the dangerous Western Approaches, are still raced in the World Pilot Gig Championships held on Scilly each May. A fleet of the English warship Association, wrecked on the Western Rocks in 1707 with the loss of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, led to the Longitude Act of 1714.

Visiting with care

Fly from Land's End, Newquay or Exeter to St Mary's, or take the Scillonian ferry from Penzance between March and November. Use the inter-island boats to reach Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's and St Agnes, and book accommodation well ahead for the short season.

Interesting facts

• Tresco Abbey Garden hosts over 20,000 exotic plants from the southern hemisphere thanks to the Gulf Stream.
• The pilot gig, a six-oared rowing boat, evolved from 18th-century Scillonian pilot vessels.
• The wreck of the Association in 1707 helped drive the Longitude Act of 1714 and the race to solve navigation at sea.
• Only five of the roughly 140 Scillonian islands are permanently inhabited.