Colourful island of azure bays
With its azure water, blue skies and vibrant flowers, the island of st Mary’s in the scillies captivates both residents and visitors alike
Bathed in spring sunshine, surrounded by seas of cobalt blue, azure and turquoise, a tiny archipelago sits peacefully off the south-western tip of Britain. The verdant greenery and light sandy coves of more than 140 islands and islets stand out vividly against the waters of the Celtic Sea. These are the Scilly Isles, a scant six square miles of terrain with only five inhabited islands among the numerous others, some barely bigger than rocks, that are home only to wild flora and fauna. The approximately 2,200 people who live on the islands of St Mary’s, Tresco, St Martin’s, Bryher and St Agnes enjoy one of Britain’s mildest climates. The encircling coastal waters are home to anemones, soft coral, sea fans, kelp, eelgrass and exotic visitors such as ocean sunfish, porpoise and dolphins. Though the islands have few native mammals, the gentle climate is ideal for butterflies, many birds and flower growers. In spring, rows of narcissi in mingled yellows line the fields of the numerous farms where they are grown.
Fortified town
The main island is St Mary’s. Approximately 2½sq miles in size, it is home to 1,700 residents. Broadly circular in shape, the island is defined by the bare cliffs and moors of its coastline. Inland is an undulating patchwork of fields and small woodlands. The entire island, and the Scillies as a whole, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the smallest in the UK. The main residential area is Hugh Town in the south-west of the island. This is a settlement of characterful streets, steep paths and close-knit, stone-built buildings. Narrow lanes bisect the older parts of the town, originally settled in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. To the north is the harbour, to the south a beach. On the west side of the town is a rounded peninsula of land, upon which is built an imposing 16th century garrison.
This is a fortified site, originally designed to prevent enemy ships from entering the calm waters between the islands. Within it is the imposing Star Castle, named for its shape and built between 1593-4. It is the earliest surviving fortification in the town, and its parapet still has loops for muskets and joints in the walls. Since 1933, the site has been operated as a hotel, with both guests and members of the public able to walk the walls while enjoying views down onto the town and beyond. Hugh Town’s origins are linked to the garrison. The original Old Town was sited a mile to the south-east, but residents realised the closer to the defences they were, the safer it was. Today’s settlement grew in the shelter of the garrison at the expense of the now diminutive old quarter. Hugh Town’s close connection with the sea is reflected in Well Lane. This is in the north-west of the town, between Hugh Street and Garrison Lane. Here, sailors would traditionally draw their water for onward journeys. Although there is no modern well in its place, many of the cobbled lanes that surround the area remain unchanged. Empty water barrels would have been rolled from boats in the harbour, approximately 110 yards (100m) to the north, or from Porthcressa Beach, half that distance again to
the south. Once filled, the sailors faced the physically demanding task of transporting the barrels back across the town to their waiting vessels.
Bathed in colour
Today, as well as pleasure sailors, St Mary’s attracts artists and craftspeople, drawn by the light and the colours. “In the right conditions, the sea turns a brilliant turquoise, and it really is quite wonderful,” says Oriel Hicks. She has been on the island for 26 years and now runs the Phoenix Stained Glass Studio on the eastern limits of Hugh Town. “Combine that with the wildlife and the abundance of wildflowers, and you have a truly inspiring place. It’s very satisfying if you can find a way to translate that beauty via any medium. I find that turquoise works particularly well when expressed in glass,” she explains. “I love the vibrant colours that it allows you to work with and create, particularly blues and greens. I touch the hot colours less often because they don’t capture the spirit of St Mary’s.” Some of her work can be seen in the stained glass windows of several of the islands’ churches. She has a deep passion for the islands, but is not a native Scillonian. “I’m originally from Croydon in South London,” she says. “I actually came and worked on St Martin’s for a month at the age of 14. I remember my mother asking the guards at Paddington station to take care of me as the train left. So I came down here and worked the fields for a month. I loved it so much I did it every summer from then on until I was 20. I got to know the people and the island very well, and when I eventually moved to St Mary’s permanently, everyone here thought that I was from St Martin’s.”
Open skies
Further beyond Hugh Town, along a slender, coast-hugging, dirt path to the north-east, sits a small collection of dwellings. They are fronted by the colourful hulls of beached boats
suspended in dry docks. This small settled area sits between Hugh Town and Porthloo. It is fronted by Thomas’ Porth beach, just before the ground steepens to climb up the island’s western cliffs. Here, another artist inspired by St Mary’s is based. “I could technically paint anywhere, but this is a great location,” says Stephen Morris, owner of the Glandore Gallery. “I’m surprised it’s not better known. You have the wide open skies of the east coast, which can be sharp and clear and drenched with colour. Cornish light is rightly famous, and I always try to capture it early and late in the day when it’s at its best.” Stephen spent time on St Mary’s as a boy when his uncle ran a hotel, and now he and his wife have lived here for 40 years. “Neither of our grandparents were born here, so we’re not true Scillonians, but it’s still been a very friendly place. “What interests me is the colour and the atmosphere,” he says. “You find yourself painting cloud and vapour and the light coming through it, all of which is best expressed with water. In certain pieces of work, I’ve even included pieces of
“To one grave they were committed Scilly’s earth on them was cast, Cargill will no more delight us these fleeting pleasures now are cast” Robert Maybee, Scillonian poet
real seaweed mingled with the paint, just to show how colourful it can actually be as a plant.”
Mild climate
St Mary’s mild climate makes it ideal habitat for a wide range of flora and fauna. In the centre of the island, less than a mile from Hugh Town, is Carreg Dhu Garden. This community garden, founded in 1986, is run by volunteers. The name comes from the Cornish words for black rocks, and the 1½ acre plot has been formed in what was originally a ram pit quarry. Ram is a local clay-like earth used to make roads and paths. Here, sheltered from the cold easterly winds, sub-tropical plants, shrubs and trees thrive. An area has also been set aside for the Historic Narcissus Collection, displayed in six hexagonal borders. This collection was started in 2006, to preserve traditional varieties grown on the islands. There has been a flower industry on St Mary’s since 1870, when farmer William Trevellick found that daffodils around his farm were in flower a month earlier than in mainland Britain. Today, the island has nine family-run flower farms.
Wild flowers
The wild flora of St Mary’s can be enjoyed further east, at Porth Hellick Pool. Approximately half a mile east of Carreg Dhu, this area is abundant in life, with willows and elms; catkins and yellow iris; and birds such as reed warblers and chiffchaff. The islands have retained a healthy population of Dutch elms, having been spared the devastation that hit mainland
Britain in the late 1960s. In spring, their jagged green leaves are beginning to appear. Starlings roost and nest alongside the meandering stream which runs through the damp and richly scented woodland in spring. “Scilly, to me, is the people and the landscapes and the flora and fauna, and it all seems to work in partnership so well,” says Nikki Banfield, the communications officer for the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. Nikki’s family have lived here for generations, and she can trace its history in an unbroken line back to the late 1200s, something that is rare, even for native islanders. “People always say that when Scillonians travelling on the mainland talk about Scilly, they begin to act and talk as though they’re actually there,” she says. “Perhaps it’s the strength of the bond that the isles can make you feel. Many of us can walk through the graveyards on St Mary’s and see generation after generation of ancestors. The islands themselves don’t change from one century to the next, and I don’t think the people do either. They carry the characteristics of those who came before them. There’s a real sense of that heritage being in your blood. “A lot of the locals are involved in farming and fishing, so the environment is essential to their survival. There’s a strong sense that they look after it, and it looks after them. When you live here, you get a different outlook on the isles. Everything is dictated by the weather and the tides.” The reality of living here can present its own challenges. “Everyone has a chest freezer filled with milk, bread and meat; the essentials that they’ll quickly run out of if they can’t get new supplies for any reason,” she says.
Diverse wildlife
One of the main attractions of St Mary’s, is its unique ecology. Because of its separation from the mainland, there are few diseases and predatory species. “There are no foxes, badgers, deer, stoats, weasels or snakes here,” says Nikki. “We do have rabbits as well as wood and field mice. In fact, one of the earliest records of rabbits’ existence in the UK comes from St Mary’s. We have the lesser white-toothed
shrew, which is a tiny creature, and a flourishing population of hedgehogs since they were introduced to the island in the 1980s.” Other successful species include the red barbed ant, otherwise only found in Surrey; slow-worms; red squirrels on Tresco; and many Atlantic grey seals. “The Scilly Isles actually form one of Britain’s largest breeding colonies for Atlantic grey seals,” says Nikki. “At 7-8ft long, they’re really quite huge creatures. People forget they are carnivorous and have sharp teeth. But they are generally friendly, and it is possible to swim with them.” The Wildlife Trust manages more than 60 per cent of the land on the islands. It keeps six Ruby Red Devon cattle, which are regularly moved to graze on grasslands that would otherwise need limiting by human hand. This allows wild flowers to flourish. Native flowers include the brightly coloured orange birdsfoot and hard-to-spot adder’s tongue fern. The dwarf pansy is found on Bryher and bears tiny flowers that bloom facing the ground. Introduced species include the hardy windbreak pittosporum, which grow across the island, from the inland areas to the coastal borders. From its rocky coastline and sandy beaches to its sheltered gardens, and from the blue skies to the azure seas, there are few places in Britain so defined by their landscape, location and nature as the island of St Mary’s. With its rich history and beautiful scenery, it is a place of great tranquillity and a haven of hidden treasures, waiting to be sought out.