We spent a couple of weeks in deepest, darkest Cornwall before peak tourist season. It wasn’t sunny…

Some Serious Islands

The Isles of Scilly lie off the coast of Cornwall and are accessible by ferry, plane, and helicopter. We opted for the ferry from Penzance to St Mary’s island as the most reasonably priced option, although it doesn’t leave a lot of time for exploration. The ferry leaves Penzance at 9.15, arriving at 12, and leaving again at 16.30. That’s shy of four hours of exploration when you factor in arriving for the return ferry. Our next trip down this direction may have to include a stay on the islands themselves.

Getting onto the ferry was easy. We parked at the Harbour long stay car park and walked round to the designated area. For longer trips items of luggage can be “checked” into the hold, and by that I mean placed in shipping containers to be loaded on the boat. Day trippers can’t bring bigger items, and to be fair you hardly need to for three and a bit hours. Our boarding passes were scanned at the gangplank, and we boarded with ten minutes to spare.

The ferry has four deck levels accessible to passengers. The top deck is mostly outdoors, and the others offer indoor seating. There are two cafés which serve a range of beverages, snacks, and lunch items. We opted to pack a lunch so we weren’t spending half of our time on the island waiting for food.

The ferry arrives into St Mary’s, the largest of the Isles of Scilly, and from the harbour you can get out to the other islands easily. We opted to stay on St Mary’s, beginning in Hugh Town and wandering out to Old Town and up to Longstone Lodge and Café, and back into town again. Stopping for cake at Longstone, of course. The island, although very quaint, was similar to the average Cornish village with narrow lanes and old properties. The number of cars on the island is a little surprising given how small it is. It would be imminently accessible by bicycle or foot if you lived there. The average age of residents is 50 years old reflecting an older population than England as a whole, but surprisingly for a place that feels like a retirement-focused community, close to 25% of residents are retired.

Aside from a pleasant walk, the island offers several beautiful beaches, cafés, restaurants, and gift shops/galleries. If you’re looking for an action packed destination, this isn’t it. St Mary’s has the aesthetic of a quieter than average Cornish village but I don’t think it’s an essential stop in a tour of the Southwest. I suspect the best experience is spending several days island hopping and generally relaxing. Admittedly we didn’t have the most intense exploratory approach walking a three and a half year old around the island. There are several vineyards in the Isles and some stunning gardens. Next time we’ll plan to stay a few days and see more.