07/09/17 - St Mary's Circuit, Scilly Isles

Distance - 9 Miles
Walk Inspiration - Walk 24, Country Walking Magazine, May 2001
Geocaches - 7
Pubs - The Atlantic and the Bishop and Wolf



The Scilly Isles have long been on our "to visit" list.  We finally make it, courtesy of Cruise and Maritime Columbus on a British Isles Discovery tour.  We might be the youngest people on there by 15 years and have been forced into Vera Lynn sing-alongs after the bingo but we are ticking off some hard to reach bucket list destinations.

We're on shore for less than 10 hours, so a Coastal Circuit Walk seems the best way of discovering all the island has to offer in a limited time.

The tenders drop us off at the jetty in Hugh Town.  The high street, along with two of the three island pubs we found, is discovered in all of two minutes.  We head out on the coastal path for easy walking with no amenities until we reach Old Town and the remaining boozer.

Here's what we found;

Solitude and Burial Chambers

Little civilisiation on the coast.  The paths are building free, with the exception of ancient burial chambers.

Striding out on the Western Coast Path

1st of the ancient Burial Chambers

Traffic lights for Ramblers - we walk across the end of the Runway

Golden Sand Bays

We'd heard of the similarity with the Caribbean, with the gulf stream climate and golden sandy beaches.   St Mary's didn't disappoint.  Apart from a couple of other hardy cruisers, we had the beaches to ourselves, with views past our floating hotel to the other inhabited Scilly Isles.

Looking from Bay Point, past Chez Mappiman and over to Tresco

Geocaches

Always got entertainment options when you have Geocaching as a hobby.   7 finds today and a shout out to fellow Cruise Geocachers, rallisalli & hawkeye, who we followed around hunting tupperware. We eventually bumped into each other in a rain lashed Kirkwall and were grateful for the advice on how to gain access to the Cathedral Cache

Geocache at Pulpit Rock. 

The Pubs

The all inclusive drinks package on the ship included only Bitburger.  Real Ale fans were seduced with the availability at a price of Spitfire and London Pride.   After three days of Bloody Mary's and Bloody Lager, my taste buds were crying out for excitement.

The first pub was 3/4 of the way around the walk at Old Town.  The Old Town Inn used to be in the Good Beer Guide, but not in the 2017 edition.  We looked.  We saw a Tuna Mayo Sandwich provided a penny change from a tenner.  We ate pasties at the Old Town Cafe.

The remaining pubs were conveniently at the end of the walk.   Both functional, both stocking St Austell Beers. I'd spotted the Atlantic on Twitter a couple of weeks before arrival.  The Tribute didn't disappoint, taken in the beer garden with a good mixture of locals and tourists.   To maintain balance, it was a HSD in the unusually named Bishop and Wolf.

The Atlantic, St Marys

Never been so happy to see a Tribute

The Bishop and Wolf