Elderly couple standing in shallows looking towards Cromwell Castle on Tresco Island.

Julian Love

Isles of Scilly

While only 28 miles west of the mainland, in many ways the Isles of Scilly feels like a different world. Life on this archipelago of around 140 tiny islands seems hardly to have changed in decades: there are no traffic jams, no supermarkets, no multinational hotels, and the only noise pollution comes from breaking waves and cawing gulls. That's not to say that Scilly is behind the times – you'll find a mobile-phone signal and broadband internet on the main islands – but life ticks along at its own island pace. Renowned for its glorious beaches, there are few places better to escape.

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Attractions

Must-see attractions

Tresco Abbey Garden
Isles of Scilly
Tresco's key attraction – and one of Scilly's must-see gems – is this subtropical estate, laid out in 1834 on the site of a 12th-century Benedictine…
Rushy Bay
Isles of Scilly
Bryher is fringed by fabulous beaches, but Rushy Bay is the largest – and many would say the loveliest. South-facing and sheltered by the hummock of Watch…
Great Bay
Isles of Scilly
On the remote north side of the island, this large expanse of sand is aptly named – it's great indeed, both in size and scenery. It feels wonderfully…
Watch Hill
Isles of Scilly
For the best views on the island, hike up to the top of Watch Hill, from where you can drink in a panorama right across the archipelago. It's a truly…
Halangy Down
Isles of Scilly
While Neolithic settlers probably only visited Scilly sporadically, by the Iron Age settlers had arrived and made a life here, eking out a living by…
Bant's Carn
Isles of Scilly
One of the best-preserved Neolithic chamber tombs in the Scilly Islands, on the northwest side of the island on the edge of Halangy Down. It's still…
Samson
Isles of Scilly
This tiny island really is for Robinson Crusoes. It's been abandoned since 1855, and now the only signs that anyone ever lived here are a few crumbling…
Isles of Scilly Museum
Isles of Scilly
The small Isles of Scilly Museum explores the islands' history, with an eclectic mix of archaeological finds and artefacts from shipwrecks. Among the…