We returned yesterday from our wonderful summer holidays in the Scilly Isles. Here’s a couple of pics from my sketchbook. I’ll post some more up over the week as I’ve got loads. The first picture shows the view from Bryher (the island we stayed on) over the channel to Tresco (the nearest island). The second picture is of my mum and Little Owl building a sandcastle. We did a lot of that!
You really feel like you are on holiday in the Scillies. Apart from being on an island there are hardly any proper roads and most people get around by tractor or quad bike. The beaches are all white sand and turquoise water. The vegetation feels like it has landed from another planet because of the climate. There are enormous succulents growing at right angles out of cottage walls covered in amazing flowers. The wild flowers over the cliffs are also a real treat. What I especially loved was the sense of being in a place full of story. There are wrecks throughout the Scilly Isles and the locals used to race each other to passing ships in special rowing boats, called gigs, to get work piloting the ships through the trecherous waters. Of course there are also stories of wreckers and smuggling too. I enjoyed finding out about the bronze age settlements and burial sites throughout the islands. On Bryher a mirror and sword were found in a burial site on Watch Hill. Visitors can see the sword and mirror for themselves at the museum on St Mary’s. I loved the beautiful but strange patterns carved on them.
