Holiday rentals in Isles of Scilly

Few parts of the British landscape have much in common with the tropics, but the Scilly Isles might come closest. Lying 28 miles from the southernmost point of the mainland in the Atlantic and warmed by the Gulf Stream, this 140-island archipelago boasts turquoise waters and beautiful white-sand beaches lined with palm trees, as well as the famous Tresco Abbey Garden, bursting with subtropical plants.

Only five of the islands are inhabited. Most of the 2,000 residents live on the chief island of St Mary’s, engaged in fishing, farming, and tourism. It’s a close but welcoming community that will make you feel like you’ve travelled to a quieter, more rural past. The remainder of the islands are a haven of natural wilderness, including bird and sealife, unspoilt coastline, red squirrels, grey seals, and much more in a richly varied habitat of grassland, wetland, woods, and dunes.

With one of the mildest climates in Britain, the Scilly Isles is a year-round destination. Which isn’t to say it doesn’t get some stormy, windy weather from the Atlantic. Spring is a spectacular season, when wildflowers come out all over the islands, inundating them with colour. Summer is also very popular for beach visits and sunbathing. Gig rowing is a popular sport in the islands, and worth seeking out during the racing season. May Bank Holiday is the biggest event of the calendar, as the Scilly Islands host the World Pilot Gig Championships. There’s also an arts festival held the same month, while all of September is devoted to food and drink, with the cross-island Taste of Scilly festival.

St. Agnes

The mile-wide island of St. Agnes maintains an ever-peaceful demeanour, containing just a pub, a café, and a pretty church with stained-glass windows. There are a number of watersports on offer, including snorkelling, and you can walk across a sandbar at low tide to explore the Stone Age monuments left on the islet of Gugh.

Bryher

Bryher has a bit of everything that makes the Scilly Isles so unique — a rugged and rocky west coast that showcases the Atlantic’s wilder side, sheltered sandy beaches on the east, and pretty green hills linking the two. There’s even a painters’ studio and a view across to Tresco.

Eastern Isles

With puffin colonies in residence from May to July, and seal pups from August to December, a boat trip around this magnet for wildlife can fascinate any time of year. It’s also conveniently close to the stunning beaches of St Martin’s.