22nd to 23rd June 2022
The Isles of Scilly are a group of islands, islets and rocks about 25 miles west of Land's End. Five of the islands are inhabited: St Mary's (the biggest), Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's and St Agnes. Officially they are part of Cornwall, but they feel like their own world: out in the ocean, yet enjoying an almost subtropical microclimate that means some of the plants growing there look as if they come from the Caribbean. The Abbey Gardens on Tresco are home to a wealth of exotic flora brought there by a nineteenth-century owner of the island.
When the sun shines, the illusion of a tropical paradise is made complete: there are beaches of white sand and the sea becomes a deep blue, reflecting the cloudless sky. Mike went swimming off the back of the boat a couple of times, and his yelp as he entered the water told us of one key difference between here and the tropics: the sea is very cold. In bad weather (of which there can be plenty) the Isles of Scilly take on a completely different character.
Oh, and by the way, the people who live here don't like you referring to the islands as The Scillies. It's definitely the Isles of Scilly.
We arrived early in the morning and moored to a buoy in New Grimsby Sound, between Tresco and Bryher. Once we were secure we all went to bed: the long passage from Ireland had been peaceful but no one had been able to have more than a few hours' sleep.
A couple of hours later we emerged again from our bunks and had breakfast. We then lowered the inflatable dinghy into the water, attached the outboard and went ashore. This involves two trips, as the dinghy can only really hold three people.
By the time we'd carried out these manoeuvres it was not far off lunchtime. As if by magic, the New Inn presented itself, offering refreshement for body and soul, so we had a drink or two there and some sandwiches. We also booked a table for the evening, and took advantage of the excellent arrangement whereby you can pay for your mooring at the pub.
Then we went for a walk on Tresco in the sunshine. Just over the hill from New Grimsby Sound is Old Grimsby Sound, where there is a little bay with one of those white sandy beaches, a few yachts moored in the bay and some holiday cottages. It's an idyllic setting.
Back on Goldfinch, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, reading and snoozing, before taking the dinghy back ashore for dinner at the New Inn, including Tresco gin infused with botanicals from the Abbey Gardens.
After dinner we went for a short stroll and had a fine view of the sunset over the Sound, with Cromwell's Castle looking on.
The next day we went to St Mary's. Between Tresco and Bryher, south of where we were moored, is Tresco Flats, an area of shallow water, parts of which actually dry out when there is a low tide. But when the tide is high, it's perfectly possible to sail across it, thereby making the passage from Tresco to St Mary's much shorter. Luckily for us, on this day high water was at a civilised time, so just after lunch we slipped our mooring and went on our way. There was a nice gentle breeze from just the right direction, so we decided to sail off our mooring, rather than using the engine; though I confess I had the motor on just in case (it wasn't needed). We sailed almost all the way to St Mary's - a very short passage of only about half an hour, but a pleasant trip none the less. At St Mary's we went onto the fuel berth and took on diesel - we'd used half our fuel on the long drive from Kilmore Quay. Then we found a vacant buoy and tied up. The buoys in the bay are laid very close together, and they were almost all occupied - quite a different feel from the less crowded Tresco. At one point we had to shorten our mooring line to avoid bumping into another buoy as the boats swung to the tide and wind.
We had one night in St Mary's and dined on board. This was our last night in the Isles of Scily. It had been quite a short stay, but it felt longer, partly because we arrived early in the morning. I would have liked to stay longer, but the weather forecast was promising some strong blows later in the week, and we didn't want to be stuck on a buoy with no way of getting off the boat apart from a little rubber dinghy.
Our next port of call would be Newlyn - the first time Goldfinch had been on mainland Britain since mid May.
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