Walk Scilly - Tresco

After a full day spent between St Mary's and St Martin's, our third and final day would be taking us to the much anticipated and truly captivating; Tresco.

After very sadly checking out of our beautiful guesthouse, Mincarlo, we said our farewells to Bryony, Nick, and Diane before heading to St Mary's Quay, where we could store our luggage for the day. On our way, we dipped into the IOS store and I almost bought myself four hoodies, a baseball cap, two t-shirts, and a key chain...however, I resisted and settled on a coffee in the cafe opposite.

"At the heart of the Isles of Scilly archipelago, 28 miles from the Cornish coast, is the family-owned island of Tresco. Discover time to be amidst a subtropical garden and a soul-soothing spa; beachfront dining and award-winning accommodation; deserted bays and aquamarine seas." Tresco Island

Boat Trippin'

Our time on Scilly included many boat trips, all of which I enjoyed for different reasons. Our boat trip across to Tresco was super fun and meant we could see another angle of the Isles, with a short pitstop at Bryher. Departing from St Mary's Quay, we landed at Carn Near Quay on Tresco Island and made our way up the quay towards the slowly gathering group of people who looked to be taking part in the same excursion; the Walk Scilly, Will Wagstaff Wildlife Walk on Tresco (try saying that after several Wingletang Gins!)

Resident ornithologist and naturalist Will Wagstaff took a small group of us around Tresco, where we explored the two largest pools on Scilly, whilst looking for the varied flora and fauna that can be found there. As we wandered the paths of Tresco, Will would stop and talk to us about the surrounding area, and point out things I'd have walked past without a second glance if he hadn't stopped us.

Armed with a telescope on a tripod, Will would suddenly ask everyone to hush as he quickly identified the various birdsong and could name the birds without hesitation. I was in awe!

He'd then fling the telescope to the ground and line it up for you to look through, and many a bird I saw merrily chirping away up on the branches.

We eventually made our way past and around the two pools and enjoyed chatting with one another as we went. I even bumped into one of my ramblers who was visiting the Isles of Scilly with a friend and enjoying a lovely holiday. Small world eh?

After a couple of hours of bird spotting and listening to Will chat so passionately about the island and its colourful and green inhabitants, we found ourselves heading towards our next pitstop; The New Inn.

Best Burger...EVER!

As you have more than likely noticed from the past two IOS blogs I have shared, food and drink make a consistent appearance throughout. You'd think this trip was based around pubs and restaurants more than the walking (you're not wrong!).

Anyway, when I say I had the best burger of my life, I am not kidding. Vegans and veggies, look away now...

As part of this amazingly and kindly gifted trip, Tanya and I were treated to a two-course meal courtesy of The New Inn. Found at the heart of Tresco, The New Inn is the island's local, adorned with marine relics and offering a warm welcome throughout the year.

The New Inn is Tresco's traditional island inn which offers all-day dining and drinking inspired by the changing seasons of land and sea. It also has the most gorgeous views from its roomy outdoor area, and Tanya and I managed to bag the bench which gave us the best view of Green Bay.

Browsing the menu, there was so much to choose from. After already sampling the local seafood and eating tapas over the past two days, I was craving a decent burger. And I was not disappointed. I'm not sure if it was because I was super hungry or because we'd worked up an appetite, but my word this bacon double cheeseburger was simply sublime. You could tell the burgers were all made from scratch and I honestly cannot tell you why it packed such a punch, it just did...I still daydream about it months later!!

And to drink, of course, I had to have another Wingletang Gin with a Mediterranean tonic!

For dessert, I went for a classic sticky toffee pudding which came with Troytown vanilla ice cream. Yum yum YUM!

After filling our tummies, we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed our drinks before taking a little amble towards the beach, where we sat on the iconic white sand and waited for our return boat at 2:30pm.

Home Sweet Home

Once we had landed back at St Mary's, both Tanya and I were feeling pretty tired so decided to grab a coffee, and collect our luggage before making our way back to check-in, where we people-watched and stared out across the island taking it all in before we had to leave for home.

We finally checked in at 3:45pm and made our way to the back of the Scillonian III, where we managed to grab a seat outside, right in front of where the crew wind up the ropes which was fascinating to watch.

At 4:30pm we set sail and the calm waters were the perfect end to a perfect trip to the Scillies. What would make it even better was if we were to see dolphins...

That's right folks - you may have to watch the above video a few times to spot them but, we indeed saw a pod of glorious dolphins playing in the waves and I proceeded to ball my eyes out.

It was the one thing I really hoped we'd see whilst on the Scillonian III and the fact they came out to play on our way home rounded up my trip to the Scillies perfectly.

We made it back to Penzance and to the car by 7:30pm feeling incredibly tired but completely fulfilled and happy from one of the best trips ever.

A huge thank you to Visit Isles of Scilly, Isles of Scilly Travel, Tresco Island, Mincarlo Guesthouse, The New Inn, Will Wagstaff, and all who were involved in making this trip to the Isles of Scilly so magical. Be sure to check out my first two blogs if you've yet to see what we got up to at the start of our trip. We'll be back soon!

To plan your trip and see what the islands have to offer, please pop across to the Visit Isles of Scilly website.