Island Odyssey: Isles of Scilly

Early on the morning of 14th May 2011 the Explorer sailed by Bishop Rock, the smallest island with a building. There was a wakeup call for those who wished to see Bishop Rock, which I ignored. However, I caught a picture of Bishop Rock at midday using the maximum zoom on my camera. Yes, it's built upon an island. Over an island might be the best way to put it!

The lighthouse on Bishop Rock stands as a warning of the famous and notorious Isles of Scilly, just off the southwestern tip of England.

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Bishop Rock was the eastern marker, the start or finish, of the timed route used by ships to determine how long it took to cross the Atlantic. Passenger liners would vie to claim the fastest transit. Even more famously, the Isles of Scilly were the site of the naval disaster of 1707, when four ships in a fleet led by Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell (a remarkable name) ran aground, with great loss of life, including that of Sir Cloudesley.

At the end of the most recent Ice Age, thousands of years ago, sea level was much lower and these islands were part of a single, much larger island. This "grand island" was repeatedly split as the sea rose and the islands slowly subsided, but as recently as Roman times the primary islands were still connected. As late as the 11th Century CE most of these islands were still connected at low tide. This image from Google Maps shows how the sea is still quite shallow; at low tide you can still see stone fences stretching out into the water.

Wouldn't you love to see a time-lapse movie of the last 10,000 years here?

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The Explorer was here not to race, but to let us explore the Abbey Gardens on the island of Tresco in particular, and Tresco in general. She could not dock in the shallow waters, so we rode the zodiacs to a concrete landing. The Gardens are within walking distance, but transportation was available for those who wanted to conserve their energy for maneuvering through the gardens.

The morning was dedicated to exploring the gardens, while in the afternoon several options were offered: birding excursion, photography walks, beach exploration, exercise walks, or independent wandering.

The gardens were founded in 1834 when Augustus Smith took up the position of Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly and began to build his residence on Tresco. He created the gardens for subtropical plants by building south-facing terraces and growing extensive belts of trees to shelter the gardens from the salt-laden winter gales of the North Atlantic. After some experimentation Monterey Pine and Cypress from California were chosen for the task, and later supplemented by evergreen oak (Quercus ilex). The gardens are still owned and managed today by his descendants, Robert and Lucy Dorrien-Smith.

The full complement of ship's passengers was divided into several smaller groups, each with its own guide. Our group's first stop was the vegetable garden. The Abbey gardens are primarily for flowers and trees, but our guide was the vegetable man and kicked off our tour there.

Our guide ...

Almost immediately we were greeted by one of the golden pheasants, tame, gaudy, and very popular with the photographers. With good reason.

He was prepared for his closeup. One toe on his left foot appeared to have been broken sometime in the past.

Artwork abounds in the gardens. Here is a sculpture of Gaia and a statue of the Dorrien-Smith children (now much older). Both were created by the artist David Wynne.

The first piece to greet us was this fountain.

Just above the fountain, at the head of the steps in the background of the previous photo, is the Shell House, a gazebo designed and crafted by Lucy Dorrien-Smith, decorated in sea shells.

There really was an abbey where there is now the garden; the name is not just a conceit.

But of course the main attraction for most visitors is the gardens themselves. I can't really summarize them, except to say that the plants come from South Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, the Mediterranean basin, and other temperate to subtropical climates. Instead I'll give you a montage. Remember that you can click on a photo to enlarge it.

Some of the succulents are hardy volunteers that will grow in any kind of organic matter; an example is in the lower right.

The structure of this one deserved its own image.

All right, just one more.

This is how one of the higher, drier, and warmer terraces looked. Except for rare plants, the specimens in the gardens are not watered or individually protected by the gardeners; they must thrive or not on their own.

This agave from California loves the heat of the upper terrace.

Also at Tresco Abbey Gardens there is the Valhalla Museum of figureheads from ships wrecked at the Isles of Scilly. It is an outdoor museum with two sides of a square under roof:

It was fun to peruse, as you didn't know what would turn up next.

Then it was time to return to the Explorer for lunch!

From the front of the ship I took shots for a panorama of the several islands. Waves and wakes move too quickly between shots to line up perfectly.

After lunch Joan and I went on the birding walk. It was led by Richard White, a Lindblad naturalist, whose ability to spot and identify birds, marine mammals, and polar bears is legendary. When I am seeing a speck in the distance, Richard will identify its species, gender, and coffee preference. I exaggerate only slightly. The walk was engrossing, and we saw birds both natural and introduced, such as ring-necked pheasant, coots, partridges, mute swans, swallows, blackbirds (not one found in North America), European robins (also not the North American bird), and shelducks. I won't even mention the hordes of various species of gull. The observations through binoculars were worthwhile, but the photos from my point-and-shoot camera did not merit posting on this occasion.

This bench was welcoming for a few moments of contemplation on our way back to the landing.

 
Then it was time to reboard, and sail towards the town of Fowey (pronounced Foy) on the English mainland, where we would arrive in the morning.