Walking in the Isles of Scilly. Paddy Dillon
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birds come and go on their migrations, and a good guide will explain what is currently happening around the islands. Furthermore, there is a chance to ask specific questions on the spot. For details of guided walks, enquire at the Tourist Information Office or the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Office. There are also specific wildlife cruises – some operating during the day and others departing at dusk, depending on what is likely to be sighted.
Island Wildlife Tours offers visitors the chance to appreciate the wildlife around the Isles of Scilly, in the company of a resident naturalist and ornithologist. Contact Will Wagstaff, 42 Sallyport, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, TR21 0JE, tel 01720 422212, www.islandwildlifetours.co.uk.
Scilly Walks explores the ancient history and heritage of the Isles of Scilly in the company of a resident archaeologist. Contact Katharine Sawyer, Alegria, High Lanes, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, TR21 0NW, tel 01720 423326, www.scillywalks.co.uk.
Walk Scilly is the Isles of Scilly walking festival, taking place in April each year, offering a variety of walks and evening events, organised and led by island residents with outstanding knowledge. Contact the Tourist Information Centre for details.
Island Flowers
There are two broad classes of flowers on the Isles of Scilly: those grown for sale and shipment to the mainland, and those that grow in the wild. Bear in mind that wild flowers do creep into the cultivated flower fields, and some of the cultivated flowers have a habit of hopping out into the wilds! The flower industry started in 1868 when the tenant of Rocky Hill Farm on St Mary’s packed some flowers into a box and sent them to Covent Garden. Within a few years there were fields of daffodils and narcissus being grown. Visitors expecting to see fields of golden blooms will be disappointed, as the flowers are cut before they bloom. A field of wonderful blooms is technically a failed crop! To protect the tiny flower fields from wind and salt spray, tall, dense windbreak hedgerows are planted. Hedging species include pittosporum, euonymus and veronica, though there are also tall shelter belts of long-established Monterey and lodgepole pines. There are flower farms on each of the inhabited islands, and some specialise in posting fresh flowers to British destinations on request. There are also bulb farms, offering a selection of hardy bulbs that are more likely to survive the journey home.
Wild flowers number around 700 species around the Isles of Scilly, making any attempt to list them here a rather pointless exercise. There are some plants that are peculiar to the islands, either growing nowhere else in Britain or being sub-species of plants that are found elsewhere in Britain. Almost 250 species are included on the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust Flower Checklist, which is an invaluable leaflet to carry around the islands, along with a good field guide to flowering plants. Common plants include bracken, heather and gorse on most open uncultivated areas, with bulbous cushions of thrift on many cliffs and rocky areas.
Perhaps one of the most startling escapees from the flower fields are the large agapanthus blooms, which now decorate many sand dunes, growing among the marram grass. Fleshy mesembryanthemums, or Hottentot figs also creep through the dunes. The tropical Tresco Abbey Garden contains 3000 species from around the world, making that one small area alone a very special place for more careful study!
Island Birds
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