It’s Friday morning, and we have two full days in the Scillys ahead of us. Many of us take the ferry to the island of Tresco where visit the absolutely stunning Tresco Abbey Gardens. These gardens were established in the early nineteenth century, taking advantage of a frost free climate to grow an incredibly diverse range of plants from around the world. Originally the island was windswept but the planting of trees provided shelter from Atlantic storms to enable plants to thrive. There are plants here from Australia, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, nestling side by side. There are flowers in every colour and shape, palms, giant ferns, and sculptures. I feel like Charles Darwin exploring a tropical paradise, and spend many hours photographing plants and flowers. Red squirrels were introduced to the island in 2012, and I see a few of them running around, but not close enough to photograph. A few people are fortunate to see a “golden pheasant” with absolutely stunning colouring. I stay at The gardens until they close, then walk to catch the ferry. Happily I also see a couple of golden pheasants, hiding away behind the gardens.
I have dinner on the main Island of St Mary’s, and then while away the evening chatting on the lovely Porthcressa beach.
In the evening I do anchor watch from 10pm till midnight. It’s a cloudy night so we don’t see stars, though there are a few lights on the islands reflected in the water. Without light pollution there is an inky blackness where the sea and the sky are indistinguishable.
