Greetings, fellow travelers! We have returned from a journey to the Isles of Scilly. And yes, it is indeed a very Scilly place.
The very idea that such a beautiful, almost tropical archipelago is located just off the coast of Cornwall, well, it truly borders on the absurd. The main island, St Mary's, is 2.54 square miles—and it's a Scilly island if ever there was one.
With a population of 1,723 utterly Scilly individuals, one might say St Mary's is 'densely' populated, with twice the average density of population as the Isles of Scilly on the whole.
Star Castle is at the centre of a fortification system around the west side of St Mary's. To flummox later conspiracy theorists, the walls of the castle were built in the shape of an eight-pointed star.
Star Castle was built in 1593 under the direction of Francis Godolphin, who was perhaps a dolphin god, or a dolphin worshipper, or a merman with a dolphin tail, although the latter does seem implausible since it would be quite difficult for one to build Star Castle without legs.
The 14 metre metal tower lighthouse on Peninnis Head is a truly Scilly structure. The headland of Peninnis is within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or AONB.
Porthellick Cove contains a memorial to mark the spot where the body of Admiral Cloudesley Shovell was washed ashore in 1707. The Admiral had insisted his ship was nowhere near the Isles of Scilly, despite entreaties from his crew.
After crashing into the Isles and losing many men, Britain made an unprecedented push to develop pocket watches that could tell accurate time, and therefore allow future Admirals like Cloudesley Shovell to more accurately determine their longitude at sea.
Have you ever noticed that people often say they need greater latitude, but rarely do they need greater longitude. Where was I?
Perhaps the brightest gem on the Isles of Scilly is the Tresco Abbey Garden, which boasts over 20,000 exotic plants from more than 80 countries. It's been called 'a perennial Kew without the glass'. To visit, book a room at the enticingly named Hell Bay Hotel.
To reach Scilly by sea, take the passenger ferry from Penzance, on an esteemed ship with the distinguished moniker Scillonian the Third. If a boat is called the Third, it begs the question: What happened to the first two?
If you're looking for a truly Scilly vacation, look no further than the Isles of Scilly.
And whilst you're here, check out our official Isles of Scilly, It's a Scilly Place collection including shirts, swim shirts and tote bags. Happy travels!
Cheers,
Jolly & Goode
