Isles of Scilly
After a fairly rough night sailing west from Dartmouth we arrived in the Isles of Scilly at breakfast time. The seas were still high but we found a sheltered anchorage at the north end of the island of St Mary’s. Although there are some 100 islands and outcroppings in this Cornish archipelago only five of them are inhabited. Our first landing of the day was on one of those five – Tresco. The Zodiac drive to shore was long and bumpy but well worth the ride.
Our reason for coming to this small island was to view the Tresco Abbey Gardens, a unique collection of sub-tropical trees and plants from Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America. The reason they bloom so profusely here is due to the shelter from the wind, lack of frost and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream.
The gardeners on the island took us on a guided tour of the extensive gardens which were first laid out by Augustus Smith in 1834 on the site of a ruined 10th century Benedictine Abbey. Despite the gray skies we enjoyed the scattering of color of the beautiful plants amongst the granite outcroppings and ruined abbey buildings. Before leaving for the ship Karen took some of us on nature walk away from the gardens giving us a chance to appreciate the wild flowers of Tresco as well as its abundant bird life. The wind was with the zodiacs on way back to ship, which made the journey much shorter and drier.
During lunch Tom announced our afternoon options. One was a drive in local tenders to Hugh Town on St Mary’s where we could spend time on our own or take a walk out of the town with Karen and Iain to discover the flora and fauna of this the most densely populated of the Scilly Isles. The other alternative was to take a short Zodiac drive to shore with Carol and Steve on a walk investigating the archaeology of the island. Our guests declared both excursions successes. Karen and Iain’s walk proved to be invigorating with a varied collection of plants and wildlife being seen and enjoyed. On their walk, Carol and Steve were able to find several impressive Neolithic sites, an Iron Age village and a single standing stone, nestled amongst trees and on the site it was erected perhaps 5,000 years ago. It is incredible to think that these islands have been inhabited continuously for so long.
By late afternoon we were all back on board Endeavour and we weighed anchor and set sail for our next destination – Ireland: a new country, new currency and new experiences.
After a fairly rough night sailing west from Dartmouth we arrived in the Isles of Scilly at breakfast time. The seas were still high but we found a sheltered anchorage at the north end of the island of St Mary’s. Although there are some 100 islands and outcroppings in this Cornish archipelago only five of them are inhabited. Our first landing of the day was on one of those five – Tresco. The Zodiac drive to shore was long and bumpy but well worth the ride.
Our reason for coming to this small island was to view the Tresco Abbey Gardens, a unique collection of sub-tropical trees and plants from Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America. The reason they bloom so profusely here is due to the shelter from the wind, lack of frost and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream.
The gardeners on the island took us on a guided tour of the extensive gardens which were first laid out by Augustus Smith in 1834 on the site of a ruined 10th century Benedictine Abbey. Despite the gray skies we enjoyed the scattering of color of the beautiful plants amongst the granite outcroppings and ruined abbey buildings. Before leaving for the ship Karen took some of us on nature walk away from the gardens giving us a chance to appreciate the wild flowers of Tresco as well as its abundant bird life. The wind was with the zodiacs on way back to ship, which made the journey much shorter and drier.
During lunch Tom announced our afternoon options. One was a drive in local tenders to Hugh Town on St Mary’s where we could spend time on our own or take a walk out of the town with Karen and Iain to discover the flora and fauna of this the most densely populated of the Scilly Isles. The other alternative was to take a short Zodiac drive to shore with Carol and Steve on a walk investigating the archaeology of the island. Our guests declared both excursions successes. Karen and Iain’s walk proved to be invigorating with a varied collection of plants and wildlife being seen and enjoyed. On their walk, Carol and Steve were able to find several impressive Neolithic sites, an Iron Age village and a single standing stone, nestled amongst trees and on the site it was erected perhaps 5,000 years ago. It is incredible to think that these islands have been inhabited continuously for so long.
By late afternoon we were all back on board Endeavour and we weighed anchor and set sail for our next destination – Ireland: a new country, new currency and new experiences.
