Tresco from Plumb Island
Bryher from Plumb Island
Plumb Island at low tide
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Island 211 - Plumb Island, Tresco, Isles of Scilly
Plumb Island is a very small tidal island located 100 metres off the west coast of Tresco. It is approximately 50 metres long by 30 metres wide. It is a limpet shape and is covered in Hottentot figs and a few scrubby trees. It is obviously visited on a frequent basis, as there was a clear path to the top of the island, where I sat and ate my lunch.
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
The Isles of Scilly Revisited 2014
After a gap of 11 years I thought it was time to revisit the Isles of Scilly and collect a few of the tidal islands off the inhabited islands. I flew from Newquay Airport to St Mary's in a 16 seater plane. The car park at Newquay cost me £69.50 for 7 days, which I thought was a bit expensive + you also have to pay a £5 Airport Development Fee and the cost of the return flight was. You can also fly from Lands End or Exeter. It is cheaper to travel by boat from Penzance on the Scillonian III but the journey to the Isles of Scilly is often very rough as it heads into the prevailing wind and many people I know who have been on it have been seasick. The Scillonian only runs from mid March to early November. There is no longer a helicopter service to the Isles of Scilly.
The first smell I noticed after leaving the airport was an unusual but not unpleasant mixture of wild garlic and narcissi. Daffodils and narcissi grow everywhere in the Isles of Scilly, not just in the cultivated fields. They were still in full flower in mid March but if you visit in the summer you will miss these cheerful flowers.
I timed my visit in mid March carefully to coincide with low tides in the middle of the day. However what I hadn't realised was that almost all of the boat operators hadn't started running yet. I think this was partly because Easter this year isn't until later in April. Thankfully the owner of the Sapphire was running his boat and visiting Tresco and St Agnes was no problem. However due to very low tides in the case of Bryher and the fact that the hotel, pub and all the cafés and restaurants on St Martin's were closed they were both off the menu. I did eventually get to St Martin's on one of the small boats used to ferry the local residents back and forth. I will be back sometime to visit Samson and the tidal islands off Bryher.
The lack of open cafes on all the islands was good for the waistline. However there isn't much to do on the Isles of Scilly that doesn't involve walking and after a 9am start and with 12-13 miles completed by 4pm what I really wanted to do was sit down in a café with a cup of tea and a piece of cake and have a rest. The only food shop on St Mary's is the Co-op, which wasn't well stocked and often ran out of sandwiches, fruit and vegetables. I didn't starve but it is just as well that I don't mind eating cold spaghetti hoops out of a tin while sitting on a bench on a windy seafront while the seagulls eye up my tea! There is no shortage of benches on St Mary's. Most of them are memorials to people who loved the Isles of Scilly and were frequent visitors.
The Kaffeehaus on St Mary's, which offers German food, was open but it was a couple of miles from Hugh Town, so I only went there once. Old Town Café was only open for 4 hours during my week long stay but I did manage to arrange my itinerary, so I could visit it. However the best café I found was the Dairy Cafe on the seafront in Hugh Town. It may not serve the best food in the world but it was reasonably priced, the food was tasty, the staff were friendly and most importantly it was open most days. I think most of the pubs in Hugh Town were open too but I didn't go in any of them.
While sitting on a bench eating a packet of cheesy Wotsits one day I dropped one on the ground and then had my closest encounter ever with a thrush, who hopped under my legs and ate the whole Wotsit over a period of about 10 minutes. I don't normally encourage wild animals to eat junk food, or indeed consume it myself, but this was a delightful encounter. I noticed that other birds on the Isles of Scilly were also much bolder than their mainland cousins e.g. blackbirds and the normally very shy wren.
I stayed in the excellent, comfortable and friendly Wingletang Guest House in Hugh Town, St Mary's. It was only a couple of minutes walk away from the Co-op and the Harbour.
The first smell I noticed after leaving the airport was an unusual but not unpleasant mixture of wild garlic and narcissi. Daffodils and narcissi grow everywhere in the Isles of Scilly, not just in the cultivated fields. They were still in full flower in mid March but if you visit in the summer you will miss these cheerful flowers.
I timed my visit in mid March carefully to coincide with low tides in the middle of the day. However what I hadn't realised was that almost all of the boat operators hadn't started running yet. I think this was partly because Easter this year isn't until later in April. Thankfully the owner of the Sapphire was running his boat and visiting Tresco and St Agnes was no problem. However due to very low tides in the case of Bryher and the fact that the hotel, pub and all the cafés and restaurants on St Martin's were closed they were both off the menu. I did eventually get to St Martin's on one of the small boats used to ferry the local residents back and forth. I will be back sometime to visit Samson and the tidal islands off Bryher.
The lack of open cafes on all the islands was good for the waistline. However there isn't much to do on the Isles of Scilly that doesn't involve walking and after a 9am start and with 12-13 miles completed by 4pm what I really wanted to do was sit down in a café with a cup of tea and a piece of cake and have a rest. The only food shop on St Mary's is the Co-op, which wasn't well stocked and often ran out of sandwiches, fruit and vegetables. I didn't starve but it is just as well that I don't mind eating cold spaghetti hoops out of a tin while sitting on a bench on a windy seafront while the seagulls eye up my tea! There is no shortage of benches on St Mary's. Most of them are memorials to people who loved the Isles of Scilly and were frequent visitors.
The Kaffeehaus on St Mary's, which offers German food, was open but it was a couple of miles from Hugh Town, so I only went there once. Old Town Café was only open for 4 hours during my week long stay but I did manage to arrange my itinerary, so I could visit it. However the best café I found was the Dairy Cafe on the seafront in Hugh Town. It may not serve the best food in the world but it was reasonably priced, the food was tasty, the staff were friendly and most importantly it was open most days. I think most of the pubs in Hugh Town were open too but I didn't go in any of them.
While sitting on a bench eating a packet of cheesy Wotsits one day I dropped one on the ground and then had my closest encounter ever with a thrush, who hopped under my legs and ate the whole Wotsit over a period of about 10 minutes. I don't normally encourage wild animals to eat junk food, or indeed consume it myself, but this was a delightful encounter. I noticed that other birds on the Isles of Scilly were also much bolder than their mainland cousins e.g. blackbirds and the normally very shy wren.
I stayed in the excellent, comfortable and friendly Wingletang Guest House in Hugh Town, St Mary's. It was only a couple of minutes walk away from the Co-op and the Harbour.
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