Isles of Scilly

A subtropical archipelago off the southwest tip of Cornwall, with white sand, turquoise water, Tresco Abbey Garden and puffins, explored by hopping between islands on small boats.

The Isles of Scilly lie in the Atlantic about 45 km southwest of Land's End in Cornwall, England. Of roughly 140 islands and rocks, only five are inhabited — St Mary's, Tresco, St Martin's, St Agnes and Bryher — with a permanent population of about 2,200. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, the islands have mild winters and cool summers, making them one of the mildest places in Britain, and their white beaches and turquoise water often earn them the nickname "Britain's Caribbean". April–Sep is the best time to visit: in spring the daffodil fields and subtropical gardens burst into bloom, from May to July you can take boat trips to see puffins, and summer is ideal for swimming, kayaking and snorkeling with seals. In winter boat and flight services are sharply reduced and many businesses close.

Most visitors stay in Hugh Town, the capital, on the main island of St Mary's. Each morning they check the chalkboards at the quay to choose which island to visit that day, then return by boat in the evening: Tresco for its Abbey Garden and castles, Bryher for a walk around the island, St Martin's for lazing on white sand, and St Agnes for crossing the sandbar and having a drink at Britain's most southwesterly pub. St Mary's itself can be circled in two or three days on the coastal path, taking in the Garrison walls, Peninnis Head, prehistoric burial chambers and numerous coves.

Getting there: from March to November, the Scillonian ferry sails from Penzance in about 2 hours 45 minutes (one sailing a day in summer; expect a rough ride in heavy seas). Year-round, small Skybus planes fly to St Mary's from Land's End Airport, Newquay or Exeter in about 15–60 minutes, with strict baggage limits. There are no rental cars on the islands; St Mary's has a round-island bus, taxis and bike hire, while the other islands are mostly explored on foot. Plan to stay 3–5 days. Book accommodation and boat tickets well ahead for the summer school holidays, and build buffer days into your itinerary, as transport in both directions can be canceled due to fog or rough seas.

Top sights

• Tresco Abbey Garden – A subtropical garden built among the ruins of an abbey, with more than 20,000 plant species from South Africa, Australia, South America and…
• Hugh Town – The island group's capital on St Mary's, a narrow town wedged between two bays. Its harbour is the departure point for all inter-island boa…
• St Agnes – The southernmost inhabited island of the group. Its people are down-to-earth, there are almost no cars, and it has an old lighthouse, a sto…
• Bryher – The smallest inhabited island of the group. The calm sandy bay on the east coast contrasts sharply with the turbulent Hell Bay on the west…
• St Martin's & Great Bay – An island famous for long white-sand beaches and Caribbean-colored water. Great Bay on the north coast is often rated one of Britain's most…
• The Garrison & Star Castle – 16th- to 18th-century defensive works on the western peninsula above Hugh Town. A walk around the walls takes about an hour, with views ove…
• Isles of Scilly Museum – A small local museum in Hugh Town displaying the islands' prehistoric artefacts, shipwreck finds and the history of island life.
• Porthcressa Beach – A curved beach on the south side of Hugh Town, right next to the town centre, with calm water that suits children paddling and evening stro…
• Peninnis Head – The granite headland at the southernmost tip of St Mary's, where wind-carved boulders and a lighthouse create the island's most dramatic co…
• Old Town Church – A small Norman-era chapel on the shore of Old Town Bay, with a graveyard facing the sea, where former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson…
• Pelistry Bay – A quiet sandy bay on the east coast of St Mary's, where a sandbar to Toll's Island is exposed at low tide and the water is crystal clear.
• Bant's Carn & Halangy Down – A Bronze Age burial chamber and the Iron Age stone-house village of Halangy Down, on the north coast of St Mary's and facing the islands. T…
• Innisidgen Burial Chambers – Two Bronze Age burial chambers, upper and lower, on a hillside at the northern tip of St Mary's, overlooking the sound toward St Martin's.
• The Bar & Gugh – A white sandbar linking St Agnes and Gugh, with turquoise water on either side at low tide. It is one of the archipelago's most photogenic…
• Troytown Maze – A single-path maze laid out with pebbles on a grassy area on the west coast of St Agnes, said to date back to 18th-century lighthouse keepe…
• Hell Bay – A rocky bay on the northwest coast of Bryher, open to the Atlantic, where storm waves crash ashore. It is the archipelago's wildest coastal…
• St Martin's Daymark – A red-and-white striped conical daymark built in 1683 on high ground at the eastern tip of St Martin's. The surrounding heath offers views…
• Cromwell's Castle – A 17th-century circular gun tower on the northwest coast of Tresco, guarding the channel between Tresco and Bryher, with superb views.
• King Charles's Castle – Ruins of a 16th-century gun battery on a hilltop in northern Tresco, overlooking the channel, Cromwell's Castle and Bryher.
• Samson – The largest uninhabited island in the archipelago. After its residents were moved off in the 19th century, stone-house ruins remain, and be…
• Puffin Boat Trips to Annet – A birdwatching boat trip around Annet, a bird sanctuary, to see puffins, razorbills and seals up close. It is the most popular activity on…
• Eastern Isles Seal Trips – A group of uninhabited islets south of St Martin's, where grey seals bask on the rocks. You can take a sightseeing boat or join a snorkelli…
• Bishop Rock Lighthouse – A 49-metre granite lighthouse on a solitary reef at the far western tip of the archipelago, known as the world's smallest island with a bui…

Where to eat

• Hell Bay Hotel Restaurant – Hotel restaurant on the west coast of Bryher, the only restaurant in the Isles of Scilly with three AA Rosettes, focuse…
• Ruin Beach Café – Mediterranean-style restaurant above the beach on Tresco, with a terrace built on the ruins of a smugglers' cottage, fa…
• Juliet's Garden Restaurant – Family restaurant above Porthloo Beach on St Mary's, open for more than forty years, with a terrace overlooking the har…
• The Turk's Head – Said to be England's most south-westerly pub, right by the quay on St Agnes; order the homemade Cornish pasty before yo…
• The Seven Stones Inn – The only proper pub on St Martin's, with a garden overlooking Tresco and St Mary's, serving good-value pub food and loc…

Itineraries

• West Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Island Hopping – Sail from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly, using Hugh Town as a base to hop between islands by boat.