En route to the Scilly Islands

Saturday
When we looked out to sea from our B&B over breakfast, the sea was as calm as a mill pond under sunny skies, which we hoped was promising for our trip to the Scilly Isles later in the day. Our ship for the Scilly Isles didn’t leave till 1.30 pm, with a check-in time of 12.30, so we had a few hours to wile away in the morning. We had a wander round the town, including the Seasalt shop, a Cornish based clothing store that I’m very fond of (!), then we went for a wander around Morrab Gardens, known for its Mediterranean and subtropical plants. I’ve included a second collage of some of the flowers currently in bloom in my extras. We returned to the quay in good time and checked in our cases, which were then put in small containers, and later lifted onto the ship by a small crane. While we were waiting - as the ship wasn’t in yet - we were watching the driver of a fork-lift truck manoever these containers around at quite a speed and in a limited space - he had obviously done it a few times before! Eventually, the ship came in and we went on board, getting a seat up on deck. By this time, the sea had developed a bit of a swell, but nothing unpleasant, and we had a most enjoyable two and a half hour trip, the route initially taking us along the southern coast of Cornwall, then heading out to the Scilly Isles from Lands End. The two small images of sailing boats were taken during this initial stretch, then the others as we approached the islands, and finally St. Mary’s, the main island, where we were staying. For those that aren’t familiar with the Scilly Islands, there are five inhabited islands, St.Mary’s, St. Martins, Tresco, St. Agnes and Bryher, and then over 100 rocky islets. When we docked in St. Mary’s, we had about a 10-15 minute walk to our B&B, while our luggage was transported there and arrived not long after we did. We could have had a cup of tea in our room, but since we didn’t have a sea view and it was a beautiful sunny late afternoon, we decided to go for a walk, and find somewhere to have a cup of tea with a view of the sea, which we did at a place called Juliet’s Garden, which enjoyed a wonderful view out across the harbour. We had a piece of cake with our tea, and ate it outside, where the sparrows didn’t bother waiting until we were finished to hop onto the table in the hope of finding a few crumbs - they seemed to have no fear whatsoever! Feeling fortified by our tea and cake, we continued along the coastal path for a distance, making the most of the sunshine - since the forecast is rather mixed for the rest of the week! By the time we returned to our B&B and then out for dinner, we discovered we had left it a bit late, as some places were beginning to close, but we eventually found a nice pub which was still serving food, so we didn’t have to go hungry!