How to plan an island-hopping weekend within the Isles of Scilly

Scattered as if on a pirate’s map off England’s southwesterly tip, the Isles of Scilly aren’t a spot you stumble over. Travellers must have booked effectively forward for the quick, spectacularly scenic switch by twin-prop airplane or helicopter from Penzance to the 140-strong archipelago. Or embark on a three-hour, dolphin-flanked ferry, which plies azure waters in the direction of show-off cabinets of pristine white sand. It’s a pilgrimage richly rewarded by a panorama of palms, lipstick-pink sea thrift and sky-blue agapanthus flowers, framing sand-blown, barely-there roads. Beyond St Mary’s, the biggest and most populous isle, there are few automobiles on the 4 different inhabited outposts of Tresco, Bryher, St Martin’s and St Agnes. They provide a each day invitation to hike and island-hop, with dockings dictated by the tides, and crossings taking mere minutes on jetboat ferries with names like Firethorn and Thunder. Come for coves the place puffins play and keep for a number of the nation’s darkest evening skies.

Day 1: Tour Tesco

Morning

Touch down by helicopter on Tresco. Arrivals hover low over the Scilly’s white-sand-haloed islands, encircled by waters of such ever-deepening turquoise hues they appear nearer to the equator than England. Banks of agapanthus welcome you on the runway on the island’s south — only a fraction of subtropical Tresco’s floral treasures. A brief stroll away, Tresco Abbey Gardens is a surprise. Unfurling throughout 17 acres, the planting contains prehistoric-looking New Zealand flame timber and towering spikes of blue-flowering Canary Island Echium — plus 2,000 unique species from the southern hemisphere and subtropics, all untroubled in Tresco’s microclimate.

Afternoon

Linger for a Cornish cream tea within the Garden Cafe or pack a picnic for the seaside — alongside a cheeky little bottle of Abbey Garden Gin, aromatic with estate-grown confetti bush. Nearby Apple Tree Bay, the place a half-mile stretch of sand meets the crystal waters of Tresco Flats, is simply one of many choices. Explore all of them on a six-and-a-half-mile loop, taking in granite-strewn open heathland within the north and a lush patchwork of gardens to the south. Cycling is a good suggestion — tiny and traffic-free, Tresco is a boon for bikers, with a rent store in New Grimsby Quay on the west shores.

Evening

Dine amid the ruins of a smuggler’s cottage at Raven’s Porth seaside, close to Old Grimsby Quay, to the east. With its wood-fired kitchen and toes-in-the-sand tables, The Ruin Beach Cafe seems a number of the Scilly’s greatest elements: plump, charred sardines, slow-roasted veggies with confit garlic aioli and buttery grilled lobster. The islands’ lodging usually books up months prematurely. If Tresco is full, it’s solely a five-minute ferry to neighbouring Bryher or 20 minutes to the accommodations of St Mary’s.

Day 2: Go island-hopping

Morning

Scilly’s smallest inhabited island, simply over half a sq. mile in measurement, Bryher is yours for the taking. Explore pebbly trails, clifftop tracks and sand-blown roads, overhung with fern and flanked by drystone partitions carpeted in lichen and cabbage crops. Roadside honesty packing containers inventory domestically made Scilly Chilli Jam, Veronica Farm Fudge and driftwood crafts.

For extra substantial souvenirs, Richard Pearce’s oil canvases of turquoise seas, silver sands and lone yachts cowl each inch of his gig-shed studio on Great Par Beach, on the island’s south west. At Church Quay to the east, spot a tableau of paddling puffins within the stained-glass home windows of All Saints church. Refuel 10 minutes away at Island Fish, a fishmonger, deli and cafe run by the third era of the Pender household. The catch is crafted into doorstep crab sandwiches and jumbo shellfish platters, greatest loved on the terrace.

Afternoon

Ferry throughout to St Martin’s for superlative seashores backed by heathery cliff paths and marram grass-tufted dunes. Cross a tidal causeway to White Island to the north; discover rock swimming pools at Lawrence’s Bay, stretching alongside the island’s western flank; or snorkel the sheltered bays round southern Par Beach, the place St Martin’s Watersports affords leases, and seals drift amid forests of kelp.

Such briny treasures — from pebbles to puffins — are hewn in gold and silver at B Corp-certified Fay Page jewellers, set in a granite barn workshop within the western Lower Town harbour. On the hilltop behind it, Seven Stones Inn resembles a pirates’ hideout, serving the likes of island-distilled SC Dogs rum and herby crab flatbreads. Sit within the cliff-edge backyard, with views of tides rolling out to the Eastern Isles.

Evening

Head again to Bryher for sundown at Hell Bay. It’s England’s most westerly resort, the place suites body views of gardens backed by sandy coves or, to the west, wave-battered stacks of rocks standing sentinel in opposition to Atlantic swells. Its up to date art-decked bar overlooks the latter, making it a mesmerising spot for a sundowner. The restaurant is the one one within the archipelago to have been awarded three AA Rosettes, serving grilled Cornish fish, bouillabaisse and West Country venison.

Top 5 island adventures

1. Charter a skippered yacht

Step aboard a 15-metre Bermudan cutter and dart round guided by skipper Paul Lewis. Departing from any island, Jekamanzi (which means dragonfly in Zulu) has a number of trans-Atlantic voyages beneath her sails. It’s a gentle, speedy craft on which to discover seal-scattered skerries and rocky sea stacks populated by puffins. Paul is aware of each inch of his native islands and units ashore on footprint-free bays to make lunches of freshly caught lobster or island-reared beef. Have a go at tacking and jibing beneath his knowledgeable instruction, then sail right into a sundown of child pinks and blues, glass of bubbles in hand. Overnighting brings stargazing and the possibility to mattress down in stylish cabins (the boat sleeps 4 individuals).

2. Go coastal camping

Pitch up or rent a bell tent at Troytown Farm on St Agnes, the Scilly’s southernmost populated island. The beachfront campsite has a pub, cafe and store promoting produce from the small dairy farm, together with its feted small-batch ice cream in flavours like rose geranium and cider sorbet. Rent kayaks for paddles to outlying islets.

3. Visit the UK’s most southwesterly vineyard

Walk amongst vines pollinated by hummingbird hawk-moths and buff-tailed bumblebees at St Martin’s coastal vineyard, backed by trails by means of elm woodlands. Vineyard tastings are hosted by homeowners Holly Robbins and husband James Faulconbridge, and embrace stone-fruity rosé, floral whites and toffee-plummy reds.

4. Take to the waters

Head for Bryher’s Hut 62, a beachside kayak rental spot backed by cow fields, to paddle round Green Bay and the rocky islets past. Transparent bottoms elevate the wild expertise, with jade seagrass and white sands drifting beneath your seat.

5. Follow the Garrison Walk

Adventure beckons even on Scilly’s largest, most developed island. Starting close to the marina in Hugh Town, this one-and-a-half-mile round coastal stroll explores St Mary’s southwestern peninsula. It takes within the immaculately preserved Star Castle, its Sixteenth-century defensive partitions and historic gun batteries, persevering with alongside paths flanked by hedge tunnels and Atlantic-blustered clifftops.