What wildlife can I see?
If you’re a birder, then this is an ideal destination for you. There are many species that are rare visitors to the rest of the UK that pop up in the Scilly Isles. Puffins, razorbills and guillemots can be found from April to late July in the Eastern Isles along with kittywakes, curlews and shags. The best way of seeing them is on a trip run by the St Mary’s Boatmen Association, a collective of boat operators who manage the ferry crossings from St Mary’s (the biggest island) and the other Scilly Isles. Check out their facebook page daily for what trips are running. There is no need to book, just buy a ticket in the moring from the kiosk on the quay or even on the boat itself.
The isles are also home to grey seals and, if you want to really get up close to them, take a snorkelling trip with https://www.sealsnorkellingadventures.com. They’re are based on St Martins, but if you can go from St Mary’s also, just let them know when you book and they will pick you up from St Mary’s quay in their RIB before the snorkel. I can highly recommend this experience.
One thing we can highly recommend, especially for the little ones, is to book a rock pool safari, combing through the rock pools of Porthcressa beach looking for all of natures wonders nestling in the water. It’s a great way to spend a few hours.
The Scilly Isles are one of the last remaining holdouts for red squirrels in the UK. The easiest place to find them is at Tresco Abbey Gardens. Situated Tresco Island, it is quite expensive for entry tickets, but the gardens themselves are worth it.
How to get there
As the most Southern and Western part of the UK, it can be quite hard to reach. We took the ferry from Penzance to St Mary’s on the Scillonion III. Its a 3 hour journey each way book with https://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/scillonian-iii/. Its quite an old ferry, but charming in its own way and is one of the best ferry rides for seeing dolphins (we saw many on both legs) and other cetations have also been seen from the ferry including minke and sei whales.
Other options are to fly from Land’s End airport https://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/skybus/ or to take the helicopter from Penzance, but this is quite pricey https://penzancehelicopters.co.uk/.
You cannot take your own car to the islands, but you will not need one. We took our bikes (need to book these on the ferry) and there is a community bus service on St Mary’s. To get to the other islands, you take the little boats run by the St Mary’s Boatmen Association and once there, all the islands are walkable.
Where to stay
Accomodation is expensive, there are no two ways about it.
Two of the best options on St Mary’s are to camp at the Garrison Campsite (pre-pitched tents also available) and the hostel at Longstone Lodge. Although technically a hostel, it is very comfy, with all rooms having en-suite bathrooms (apart from one, that does however have a separate private bathroom) and some have their own outdoor space and seating. The other occupied islands also have their own campsites.
Where to eat
Again, food is expensive in the Scilly Isles, as everything needs to be shipped there. The cheapest option is to eat in. Supplies can be bought from the Co-op on St Mary’s, the only supermarket on the isles. The other isles have general stores and post offices, which will have essential supplies for your stay. Fish and chips are readily available on most of the islands, we can recommend the Scilly Fish van, which can be found most nights at Portcressa Beach and Gav’s Fish and Chips on St Agnes. Surely the one of the best views from any restaurant in the UK is at Juliet’s Garden Restaurant on St Mary’s which over looks the bay where the Scillonion docks and Hugh Town. The food is really good and they even have a cocktail night.
See Wildlife 