Sometimes my favourite thing to do is to dream of those places on this beautiful planet in which I would love to someday visit. In my explorations I run across some of the most lovely and interesting natural wonders. I simply cannot resist the pull to see more, and I do love to share!
One such place is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the Isles of Scilly. Here we will surely find enough to explore to satisfy even my adventurous nature! From what I have learned, the Isles of Scilly lie fewer than 30 miles off the Cornish coast, but visitors might sometimes imagine that they had travelled to a different country. There is plenty on the Isles of Scilly that you simply will not find anywhere else, whether it’s wildlife, archeology, landscape, tranquility, an almost sub-tropical feel or just the islanders’ friendliness.
According to the NAAONB Website for the Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly comprise of around 200 rocks and islands, five of which are currently inhabited. Part of what makes the Islands so distinctive is their wide diversity of plant and animal life. Summer temperatures are slightly cooler than the mainland’s (although winters are milder, too).
These conditions are kind to the sub-tropical plants that have made the Islands their home. As the atmosphere on Scilly lacks the dust and industrial pollutants seen almost everywhere these days, the light has a striking brightness and clarity.
Like the air, the sea’s also unusually clean, which helps explain the profusion of marine life, from anemones and kelp to seals, porpoises and dolphins. Scilly has a large number of migrating birds and supports a greater density of song thrushes than anywhere on the British mainland, due to its small fields and hedges.
These same fields show the signs of human activity which, since beginning over 4,000 years ago, continued through the Bronze and Iron Ages as humans settled, farmed land and – from 500BC to the second world war – protected the Islands from the threat of invasion.
Tourism dominates the economy with, on average, around 120,000 tourists visiting the islands each year. Flower farming and fishing remain important, although both these sectors have struggled in recent years.
As well as being an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the islands are protected by a range of designations which include a heritage coast and a conservation area, as well as – amongst others – a Special Protection Area (under the EC Birds Directive), a Marine Special Area of Conservation (under the EC Habitats Directive) and 26 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Quite apart from which there are well over 130 listed buildings and 238 Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
Final Thoughts
Oh yes, there is definately a great amount of curiosity building up inside of my being to visit such a treasure trove of areas to explore! The uninhabited islands are an absolutely fascinating subject with the thought of many wondrous hours of observing nature in her finest detail. Ummm… yeah… the magically beautiful Isles of Scilly are definately a place to add to my growing list of future adventures!
To find more places of beauty and wonder, you may wish to take a look at Planet Earth – The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]
