In July 2010 we stayed at the Isles of Scilly for 10 days. They are situated 40 km west of Cornwall. In 2005 I went there for the first time, sailing with Adèle, and I always wanted to go back. Now we decided to go all the family and also Riza would come with us.
The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago with five larger islands. St Mary’s is the largest island where the local council is situated. We flew in and back with a small aeroplace from Exeter Airport to St. Mary’s and then we took a local boat to Bryher. We stayed on the island of Bryher for a few days at Hell Bay Hotel on the west coast. The island is only a mile and a half long (north to south) and half a mile wide. We walked around the island carrying Eric with us, whereas Mikee ran along exploring every nook and cranny.
Next to Bryher is Tresco, separated from Bryher by a small sound where the tidal streams run fast in both directions. On the third day we moved to Tresco, where we had rented a cottage near the sound. Tresco is slightly larger and we rented bikes for Riza, Mikee, Jennifer and me, whereas Eric was happy sitting on his seat behind Mama or me.
Tresco had several restaurants and hotels, but we were happy taking care of ourselves in our cottage. Mikee loved the freedom. The island was small enough for us to let her run around freely, and she could take her bike and go and buy and ice cream in the small shop. And it was safe without any cars. Ideal for small children and very beautiful for us.
One day we ventured back to the main island, St Mary’s. The fog was like a blanket enveloping us, dampening the sounds and desaturating the colours, both when we did our boat trip from Tresco to Hugh Town on St Mary’s, and when we walked around the town. We spent time strolling around the shops and cafés in St Mary’s. I had been there in 2005, after Jennifer’s and my wedding with Ulrika, but then it was sunny, and we went to pubs instead of cafés.
We saw the famous Abbey Gardens one day and the last morning we took another boat back to St Mary and the small airport, where we boarded our flight back to Exeter.
