About the Isles of Scilly - St Mary's
Have a look
at our photographic tour of St Mary's
- all photos taken on a single day, 30th April 2013.
St. Mary's
is the largest of the islands at 2½ miles by 1¾ miles
and is home to about three quarters of Scilly's population. It has
the Town Hall, hospital / health centre, banks and most of the shops
and larger hotels. Hugh Town is the 'capital' of the islands, situated
on the sandbar which separates the Garrison from the rest of the
island.
The ship to
Penzance and the fleet of colourful inter-island launches to the
off-islands operate from the quay. Although most of the accommodation
is in Hugh Town, guest houses and self-catering accommodation may
be found elsewhere on St. Mary's.
There is a
circular bus service that operates from Easter through to October
on the nine miles of road, linking most of the island's communities.
Various coach, minibus and vintage car tours run during the summer,
bicycles may be hired and taxis are normally available throughout
the year.
St. Mary's
has an Anglican, Methodist and a Roman Catholic Church, five public
houses, hotel bars, a social club, disco, cafes and restaurants.
A camp site is situated on the Garrison, and another is due to open
soon on Peninnis Head. St. Mary's has many hidden secrets and the
walks around the coast and across the island are a delight with
many contrasts from woodlands, heaths and marshland to sand dunes
with marram grasses thick with wild agapanthus flowers from Africa.
A particularly beautiful spot is the Carreg
Dhu Community Garden in the centre of St Mary's.
There are many
ancient monuments to be discovered on the island from a megalithic
village and tombs to Civil War fortifications. The small museum
in Hugh Town displays much of Scilly's rich history.
In the evenings
the visitor may enjoy the slide shows, variety concerts and plays
from both the resident organisations and from touring companies,
and no holiday would be complete without watching the exciting and
colourful gig racing between the islands that take place on Wednesday
and Friday evenings.
Sports enthusiasts
are certainly not forgotten on St. Mary's. Facilities available
include a Sports Hall (opened 2012) offering badminton, tennis,
five-a-side football, netball, cricket, aikido and many other sports.
Elsewhere on St Mary's there are facilities for squash, golf, tennis,
horse-riding, windsurfing, sailing, scuba-diving, fishing, snooker
and shooting. Visitors are also welcome to join in cricket
matches with the other islands.
Islands provide
natural attractions for artists and craftspeople and St. Mary's
is no exception with many studios dotted about the island producing
high quality pottery, paintings and crafts. St. Mary's offers
everything a visitor would require to enjoy a lifetime of holidays.
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