RAVEL DON’T MISS OUT, SCILLY

AMBLING along a sandy island path on a summer’s day, I chanced upon a vineyard with a little bell inviting me to ring if I’d like a tour and tasting.

Well, how could I resist?

The vines cover two acres, inset right, close to a dazzling white sandy beach on the enchanting island of St Martin’s in the Isles of Scilly, some 28 miles beyond Land’s End.

The vineyard was taken on in February by Nottinghamshire couple Holly Robbins and James Faulconbridge, who came to Scilly on holiday in 2018 and, like me, called in for a tasting.

“When we heard that the owners, who planted the vines in 1996, were looking to retire we jumped at the chance of taking over,” said Holly.

“We moved heaven and earth to make our dream come true.” Never quite knowing what you might discover just around the corner, or over the next headland, is all part of the fascination of a holiday spent wandering around the islands of St Mary’s, St Martin’s, Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes, which together make up the archipelago.

It also has the royal seal of approval, with news that Prince William took his wife Kate and children there this month, having enjoyed holidays there as a boy with brother Harry and their parents Charles and Diana.

My wife Jenny and I sailed out from Penzance on the island ferry Scillonian 111 to spend a week on St Martin’s, staying at Karma St Martin’s hotel.

It surely must enjoy one of the finest locations in the whole UK. The hotel is set in lovely grounds dotted with palm trees and long-stemmed blue agapanthus flowers just above the jetty at the Lower Town end of the island, and looks out across the sound to neighbouring Tresco.

The only way to reach this fabulous island is by launch from the harbour on the main island of St Mary’s.

And if the tide is coming in, then making your landing right outside the hotel is a memorable start to any holiday. However, if the tide is low then visitors are landed at the Higher Town quay at the other end of the island.

But this is an equally unforgettable experience because visitors step ashore at the end of a long, dazzling white beach as if they were being cast away for the day or, like us, a whole week.

Just along from the quay, Lewis Johnson and Anna Brown’s kayak hire venture lost the first part of the season to the lockdown.

Even now, the virus is having its effect because all their buoyancy aids have to be disinfected after use, which restricts the number of wearers.

Walking up from the Higher Town quay with some magnificent views towards the sea – and along a path garlanded with wildflowers – is like taking one’s first steps into a laidback

small island world. Going north, the tiny road runs between quaint stone cottages to the village bakery – run for the past eight years by husband and wife team Barney and Ella McLachlan.

Barney, from Wolverhampton, came to Scilly on holiday as a child but then returned to St Martin’s for a season to help his uncle run a guest house.

Now he works flat-out in the bakery, catering for islanders and a growing number of holiday visitors. Ella, from Devon, keeps the books and has launched a line of skincare products.

“There are only 100 of us on the island in the winter, so then I just do one bake a week,” Barney said.

When a small party of guests visited Karma St Martin’s hotel, where Scott Fisher is general manager, they asked for caviar. It was perfectly understandable in the circumstances, as they had flown in from Russia. But laying hands on the delicacy was easier said than done.

“It was clear they were missing their caviar so there was nothing for it but to have some flown in from the mainland,” said Scott.

But that was a far cry from the current season, which saw the hotel’s opening delayed until July 4 because of the global Covid-19 lockdown.

“We all had to get our skates on pretty rapidly to prepare and be up and running with all the required safety measures in place,” Scott told me.

“But all went relatively smoothly and we were fully booked from the start with guests who could not wait to get here.”

That I can understand. This is a corona-era staycation with all the benefits of an island in the sun – but without the need to fly, if you so wish.

TRANQUIL: View over to Tresco from Bryher and, left, the hotel view

DAZZLING: Karma hotel’s imposing St Martin’s site. Left, Wills & Kate