We set off on Monday on our drive to Penzance. The plan was to leave early & go to the Eden Project but it rained and it rained so we settled for Trago Mills instead! We stayed with Helen’s Aunty Maureen in her new house & she cooked us a lovely roast. Kay, Shay & Deanna also came over, it was really nice to see everyone again after the wedding.
We took the Scillonian from Penzance on Tuesday morning; luckily the rain had stopped but it was still cloudy. We saw our first ever Basking Sharks whilst on the boat - about 15 of them. We spent the afternoon trying to find our campsite (they don’t have any signs up in the Scilly Isles) and then putting our £20.00 Asda tent up. In the evening we strolled into the main town to get a bite to eat. The fish & chip shop closed at 7pm! The Mermaid wasn’t doing food and lots of places were full! We eventually found a nice pub to eat in called the Bishop & Wolf.
The sun came out for our first day which we spent walking all around St Mary’s; it took us a long time, but the views and scenery were fantastic. The next day we took a boat trip to Tresco to visit Abbey Gardens; they were fantastic, really exotic. On Friday we snorkelled with the seals. They kitted us up in nice thick wetsuits (the sea was about 15c) and we took a boat to the Eastern Isles. The grey seals were great; the first 5 minutes were the best as they were more inquisitive then and were nibbling the ends of our fins. Some were laid out on the rocks and they kept popping their heads up to keep an eye on us. Helen had to try and get over her fear of seaweed as there was kelp everywhere. We spent the afternoon snoozing on the beach at Nowhere (yes, there really is a place called Nowhere!).
On Saturday we were getting a boat to St Martin’s for the day. By this time it was taking us about an hour to boil the water for our cups of tea in the morning! St Martin has beautiful beaches and crystal clear water even where the ferry pulled in. We spent the day at Great Bay with about 6 other people on the beach. We got the 3.45pm ferry back so Steve could see most of the England v Portugal World Cup Quarter final. It was packed in the pub. To the surprise of noone, England lost on penalties. After the footie we met Liz McGee, who worked with us at HSBC three years ago. It was nice to catch up and hear how she’s enjoying life in the Scilly’s. We then had fish and chips and went to her place for a cup of tea.
Sunday we took the boat to Bryher. We saw Hell Bay and walked around most of the island before settling at Rushy Bay, Steve had a little snorkel but it was too cold for Helen to get in properly. That night there was a big thunderstorm; we didn’t have much rain but lots of thunder & lightning.
By Monday the weather was not so good, and there was light rain for most of the day. We spent over two hours in the museum then went to a café for lunch and several cups of tea. We woke up Tuesday morning to thunder in the distance. As it was our last day we had to pack the tent up and just managed it before the rains came. Afterwards we walked to Carreg Dhu Community Garden in heavy rain. When we got there the thunderstorm was right over us with lightning & very loud claps of thunder. We got absolutely soaked and the roads turned to streams. When we got back to the main town Helen bought herself a pair of shorts to put on and Steve bought some trousers, as all our clothes were already on the ferry ready to go home. The rain stopped and we had lunch on the beach before sailing back on calm seas. In Penzance we went for a lovely meal with Maureen & Mac at their local. Tuesday we had planned again to go to the Eden Project but it started raining so we drove home stopping for lunch at the Jamaica Inn.
Thank you so much Maureen & Mac for the lovely roast and for putting us up for two nights and to Shay for dropping us off & picking us up at the ferry.
We loved the Scilly Isles, especially when the weather was nice and hope to go back again next year, maybe to camp on St Martins.
Helen & Steve
