The Isles of Scilly (Cornish: Ynysek Syllan) ![[^]](http://static.explorra.com/img/link.png "External link to: http://www.simplyscilly.co.uk/"){kind=small}
is a small archipelago of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Cornish coast in the South West part of the United Kingdom. The Isles of Scilly were designated an official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1975.
Note: Local people do not use - and do not like - the expression "The Scillies". Local usage is to refer to "Scilly".
No transport is available to or from the islands on Sundays. This also means that Sunday papers arrive on Monday.
Passenger ferry (the Scillonian III ) from Penzance - 2h40m, runs from March - October. Leaves Penzance in the morning and returns late afternoon/evening. It's possible to take a day trip (with 4 hours onshore, longer on some days when there is a double sailing). Open returns £95. Day trips from £25 (in off peak check for vouchers in the Cornishman newspaper).
Fixed wing planes operated by Skybus fly from Land's End, Newquay, Exeter, Bristol and Southampton fly to St. Mary's Airport. Flights to/from Newquay normally connect with the Ryanair and Airsouthwest services to/from London Stansted/Gatwick
Helicopter from Penzance to St. Mary's (10 flights daily in summer, 3 in winter) or Tresco (5 flights daily in summer, 1 in winter). The air route between Penzance and St Mary's has been serviced by helicopter since 1964 and is the world's longest running scheduled helicopter service. The Tresco service was subsequently inaugurated in 1983. The 20 min flight operates 6 days a week with regular flights throughout the day. www.islesofscillyhelicopter.com
Open-return flights cost around £170, but cheaper tickets are available if you travel mid-week.
.
Each island is serviced by an network of inter-island launches that run 7 days a week from 1 April through to the end of October each year. Apart from direct trips between the islands, circular sightseeing tours are also offered giving the opportunity to look at the extensive wildlife in and around the islands, particularly the large colonies of Atlantic seal and hundreds of sea bird species. One of the most popular trips is to see the puffins who arrive to nest in late April, leaving the Isles in early August. The boat service in the winter is governed more by wind and tide, but daily, direct trips still take place with the occasional circular journey when the weather is sufficiently benign.
There is no public transport available for day visitors, however transport is normally provided to and from the quay or heliport (on Tresco) to accommodation. This ranges from old land rovers to golf carts. On Tresco there are tractors with trailers - it's often said you won't ever find as many millionaires riding on the back of a tractor as you do on Tresco!
Cream tea is also not to be missed.
Each of the islands has its own pub, though St. Mary's manages to support five, The Oldtown Inn. Porthcressa Inn, Bishop and Wolf, Atlantic Inn and The Mermaid.
On the 'Off Islands' (as the other islands are refered to) you have the Sevenstones on St. Martin's, New Inn on Tresco, Fraggle Rock on Bryher and The Turks Head on St. Agnes.
Most accommodation is on the largest and most populated island, St Mary's, which has plenty of accommodation of all kinds. The other islands have more limited accommodation: Tresco is a private estate which runs an upmarket timeshare resort, and has a hotel and a pub, but no campsite. St Martin's and Bryher each have one hotel, a campsite and some self-catering cottages. St Agnes is the only inhabited island without a hotel, and is therefore the quietest, with just a few B&Bs and holiday cottages, and a campsite. The islands are a very popular holiday destination; demand for accommodation exceeds supply, so prices are quite high and early booking is advisable.
Lots of locally produced food and gifts are available. Scilly is famous for its flowers, and a wide variety of bulbs are available. St Agnes wildflower honey, St Agnes ice Cream, St Agnes eggs, Scillonian soap, island beef, locally caught fish and shellfish, and the list goes on.
Near Crime-free. Biggest danger is probably from bike theft. Don't leave your bike unlocked outside a pub on a Friday or Saturday night! If it does go missing you'll probably find it returned the next morning.
There are 5 inhabited islands
St. Mary's is the largest island with a population of around 3000, the other inhabited islands, known as the off islands range from 30-150 people.
There are a number of smaller islands and islets (including the Western Rocks, the Norrad Rocks, Samson, Tean, St Helen's and the Eastern Isles).
You won't want to leave! Only way out by public transport is back to Cornwall on the mainland. It'll feel strange when you return.
No reviews yet! Be the first to add a review:
The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:
Some photos courtesy of:
The photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners.
This travel guide also includes text from Wikitravel articles, all available at 
View full credits
Vidimian, D. Guillaime, David, Stacy Hall, Ben, Thomas Hine, Crisp and Jim Logan, Morph, Jake73, Dhmellor, Pjamescowie and Huttite
This text is available to you under the terms ofthe Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 Generic Licence
Me
Photo by 
