Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 01720-422886;
www.bryhercampsite.co.uk
; sites £10)
Bare-bones camping near the quay. Hot
showers and tractor transport from the boat are included in the rates.
Hell Bay
( 01720-422947;
www.hellbay.co.uk
; d £135-320)
Pretty much the poshest place to stay in Scilly -
a true island getaway blending New England-style furnishings with sunny golds, sea blues
and pale wood beams. Rooms have sitting rooms, private balconies and, of course, stun-
ning sea views. There are a range of categories, starting with the garden-view rooms ran-
ging up to the supremely plush Emperor Suites.
HOTEL
£££
Fraggle Rock
( 01720-422222; mains £6-14; 10.30am-4.30pm & 7-11pm; )
This relaxed cafe also doubles as
Bryher's pub. The menu's mainly pizzas, salads and burgers, and there are a few local ales
on tap and Fairtrade coffees that help support the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
CAFE, PUB
£
THE UNINHABITED ISLANDS
Still not left the outside world behind enough? Don't fret -
St Agnes Boating
( 422704;
www.st-agnes-boat-
ing.co.uk
) offers day trips (around £15) to the most remote corners of Scilly, including the little-visited beaches of
the
Eastern Isles
, the ruined church on
St Helen's
, the many shipwreck spots around the
Western Rocks
, and
the famous
Bishops Rock Lighthouse
, a marvel of 19th-century engineering raised on a narrow sliver of rock
barely 46m long by 16m wide.
St Martin's
The third-largest and furthest north of the islands, St Martin's is one of the main centres
for Scilly's flower-growing industry, and the island's fields are a riot of colourful blooms
in season. It's also blessed with gin-clear waters and the kind of untouched sands you'd
more usually associate with St Lucia than Cornwall.
The main settlement is
Higher Town
, where you'll find the village shop and diving opera-
tion, but there are small clusters of cottages in nearby Middle and Lower Town.
Seven miles offshore from the island is the infamous
Seven Stones
reef, where the oil
tanker
Torrey Canyon
came aground in 1967, causing one of Britain's worst oil spills. The
vessel was bombed several times by the RAF in an attempt to sink the ship and burn off
the spill; it eventually broke up several days later, but still polluted more than 120 miles of
coastline around Cornwall and northern France.
