SCILLY ISLES
By Lee Day, Pictures by Lee Day and Lisa Soar
had to admit to not knowing much about the Isles traditional stone houses.
of Scilly as my girlfriend Lisa and I arrived at Bristol The first port of call was Tresco and the IslandI
airport. Somewhere off the coast of Cornwall was Hotel. The boat wasted no time thundering across the
the extent of my vast geographical knowledge — bay and the views of the golden beaches ahead
added to the anticipation. The transport to the Islandprobably not very far off the coast if the size of plane
Hotel is certainly novel. A vintage-looking tractor andwas anything to go by.
adapted trailer do the job perfectly as you trundleIt’s okay, she reassured me. The size doesn’t matter.
around, taking in the views of oystercatchers feedingStrange, I’m sure we’d had this conversation before…
among the rocks.But let me put this into perspective. The last holiday
The Island Hotel is, quite simply, stunning. Thewe enjoyed was to New York. Picture the shiny Virgin
hotel is set right on the water, overlooking aAtlantic jumbo jet, 747, 300+ feet long, 400+
picturesque bay and beautifully manicured grounds.passengers, Mr Bean on TV. Here was a twin-prop, 12
The Union Flag flies proudly. Check-in was swift andseat Skybus, just slightly larger than my Peugeot. And,
easy and it was off to the
room.as the joke goes, the refreshments come around
Well, I say room, but it was more like a topwhen the pilot passes his flask back.
apartment with separate bedroom, lounge andI’ve always loved flying and can’t really understand
bathroom. Ours was room 39 — the brilliantly-namedwhy some people find it an ordeal, but I was a little
Golden Ball suite. Maybe the hotel staff had heardnervous as the plane taxied along. In fact I enjoyed
about my goalscoring exploits with Camroseevery second of it. And after about 70 minutes the
Under-16s in 1996! Maybe the hotel ownerfirst glimpse of the islands emerged.
couldn’t decide if he liked Goldeneye or ThunderballFor a moment I wondered if I’d been kidnapped
best!like Hannibal used to do to BA in the A-Team (“here
Anyway, the room was fantastic. One of theBA, have some warm milk”) and bundled onto a
best I’ve stayed in. The large balcony gaveplane headed for the Caribbean.
amazing panoramic views back towards theThe sea was so blue we couldn’t still be in the UK.
main hotel, across the bay and out towardsNo way, not a chance.
the jagged rocks between the many smallThe pilot must have detoured to Antigua while the
islands. The bathroom was huge,sleeping tablets kicked in, surely? Nope, that amazing
bigger than most hotel rooms on itsblue sea is an outstanding feature of the islands and
own. And, as for the bed, well, let'syou get a perfect bird’s eye view as you swoop into St
just say Max Mosely and 'friends'Mary’s.
could all fit in quite comfortably.St Mary’s is the biggest of the five main inhabited
A tour of the hotel soon found theislands (at two-and-a-half miles by one-and-three-
terrace bar and restaurant, whichquarters) and from the airfield, it’s a short drive to the
both look out over the water.quay, where boats are waiting. Those first views from
Continued on page 40.the minibus give you a good sense of the islands –
quiet, narrow roads, colourful wild flowers and
Pembrokeshire County Living 39Pembrokeshire County Living 39
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