Sunrise over St Mary's IOS

On my last day on the Isles of Scilly I went to watch the sunrise.  I should have flown back to Newquay yesterday but the airport here on St Mary's was fog bound. Being a small aircraft, weather conditions must be just right, so flights are often delayed or cancelled. I had been warned it might happen so made arrangements to spend another night on the island knowing the weather would be perfect for flying the next day.

Then it was back to the B and B for breakfast before leaving for the airport. I have loved my first visit to the Scilly Isles and I have a feeling it won't be my last.

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St Martin's IOS

On my last full day on the Scilly Isles, the weather was glorious. I decided to visit St Martins, another of the islands. The island is just over two miles long with beautiful sandy beaches. It has one post office/ general stores, two cafes, a bakery and two quays.

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I decided I would have time to walk around the island before the boat returned to take us back to St Mary's island where I was staying.

The blackberries were very sweet and plentiful.

There is a hotel on the island and I decided to have some lunch there. I opted for a crab salad. It was delicious

I walked down onto this beach and sat down to admire the view and enjoyed listening to the sea lapping the shore.

Finally back on the boat after another fabulous day.

St Mary's (2)

I continued my walk around St Mary's  in the Scilly Isles by going to the Old Town which was no more than a few houses.  This is the beautiful old church of St Mary's in Old Town. In the churchyard is the grave of Harold Wilson (1916-1995) who was Prime Minister of the UK from !964 -70 and 1974-76. 

The churchyard overlooks the sea.

A number of graves were in memory of men who died at sea.

I left the churchyard and continued my walk around the coastline.

A pillbox, one of the defences left over from the second world war.

At the top of the cliffs I had to walk around the airport's runway. Flights had been cancelled today because of poor visibility. There is a warning notice and lights to let you know when you can't go near the runway as a flight is about to take off.

They were doing some kind of  practise involving the fire engine.

A path from the beach led me to a nature trail by a lake. Here there were a couple of hides overlooking reed beds. I saw about a dozen teals gently paddling amongst the reeds. I only knew what they were because a birder came into the hide and told me.

I walked inland for a little while looking for an ancient burial ground. On the way I passed fields of daffodils which were already in bud.

Hammock made from a fishing net.

The Porth Hellick burial chamber

This burial chamber, an example of a Scillonian 'entrance grave' , is part of a larger cemetery which had at least eight other cairns and entrance graves. They were built over 4000 years ago in the late Neolithic or early Bronze age.

Can you see the face in the rocks?

There are as many as 80 prehistoric chambered tombs known on the Scilly Isles but this is one of the best preserved.

After a few hours walking I came across Juliet's Garden. With a fresh crab and lobster salad on the menu I was in heaven. Pity the weather wasn't a bit brighter but at least the rain had stopped.

It was a short walk around the coast back to where I was staying. What a fabulous walk it had been.