Island News ... from the Isles of Scilly Official Tourist Information Online Source

ArtScilly 2010, May 8^th to 15^th 2010, is a new festival to celebrate the unique environment of the Isles of Scilly that vitally contributes to making some of the highest quality and most distinctive art in Cornwall and the South. The festival is designed to engage and educate the senses, stimulate the imagination, fuse culture and interpretation … all within the incomparable context of the islands. In its inaugural year, the Festival is a partnership between the Council of the Isles of Scilly and the local community of artists, galleries, community organisations and craftspeople … presenting the best, exciting and most intriguing elements that local Arts have to offer.

2010 World Pilot Gig Championships

This year's Gig Weekend was a rousing success, with teams from across the UK and Europe and over 127 gigs participating across the 4 days.

Though conditions were challenging, rowers had an amazing time. The overall winners were the Falmouth ladies crew and Par Bay men's crew. New to the races, amongst others, were the Spy, Cream of Cornwall, and Alfie Jenkins.

Next year's Gig Weekend will be April 29 - May 2, 2011

WalkScilly 2010

Walk Scilly 2010 was the fourth annual walking festival of the Isles of Scilly - running from 27^th March to 3^rd April. The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust was a key sponsor of the event, which provides the opportunity to show off some of the lesser-known aspects of the islands and their natural heritage.

The Isles of Scilly are known for their extensive and biologically diverse sandflats, which are a relic of the days when the islands were mostly all joined together by land. Exploring the habitats along the way, walkers will gain a unique perspective of the islands from the sea and will learn more about the marine conservation initiatives that The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust is undertaking to safeguard these special areas.

With over thirty guided walks to choose from during the festival, on different islands and with different themes, as well as evening entertainment (in the form of music, slide shows and other social activities) WalkScilly is a great opportunity to come and explore the Isles of Scilly (especially with the special offers available on travel to the islands as well as accommodation during the festival.)

WalkScilly 2011 is scheduled for April 2 - 9th, 2011

The Winter Adopt-A-Beach beach clean is due to be held on Porth Hellick beach on Saturday 23rd January at 2pm. The meeting place, as usual, is at the far end of Porth Hellick (closest to Camel Rock) and all gloves, bags, litter pickers,etc. will be provided. All are welcome and encouraged to come along to help keep our beautiful environment beautiful and contribute to collating vital national statistics to monitor and tackle marine litter and its associated issues. The event will be weather dependant. If anyone has any queries they can give me a bell on 01720 424311.

British International Helicopters have kindly shared with us their quarterly newsletter. You can download it from the bottom of this page.

Richard Larn, accompanied by his wife Bridget, attended an investiture at Buckingham Palace on Friday 27th November, to receive an OBE awarded in the Queen's 2009 Birthday Honours. The award which was for 'services to nautical archaeology & maritime history, was presented by HRH The Prince of Wales, on behalf of the Queen who was in the West Indies. Introduced in 1917, the Order of the British Empire has only been awarded once before to a resident of the Isles of Scilly, which was to Tregarthen Mumford in 1970 for 'services to the Council of the Isles of Scilly'.

The Isles of Scilly were featured on BBC's Countryfile on November 22nd. Julia Bradbury explored a variety of areas of Island life, including Tresco Estates and inter-Island boating requirements of the local population. You can view the programe by clicking this link

E-Day: Energy Saving Day (E-Day), October 6 2009, was a great success, as the first experiment of its kind to provide live measurements of a whole community's collective effort to cut their electricity use.

More information about the Earth Summit is available at http://www.e-day.org.uk/earth.aspx

Isles of Scilly postal flower delivery business Scent from the Islands, and Skybus's 25th Anniversary, was featured in ITV's popular weekly magazine programme, Countrywise on ITV1 at 7.30pm on Thursday October 1.

Top Gear visits the Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly were featured on Top Gear on Sunday July 12th, at 8:00pm on BBC2. Richard Hammond and James May compared the new Porsche Panamera against a small envelope, a 39p stamp and the logistical might of the Royal Mail in a race from one end of the British Isles to the other (from the Isles of Scilly to Orkney).

Their Royal Highnesses, Charles and Camilla, recently visited the Isles of Scilly ... on July 2nd, 2009. They visited Tresco (the Flying Boat Club and Tresco Abbey Gardens) as well as St. Mary's (Porthmellon Gig Sheds and the Quay)

Our latest underwater surveys have uncovered a range of rare sea creatures ...

Follow this link and read all about the discoveries!

Honouring the Armed Forces...

We held our Flag Raising Ceremony on Monday 22nd June to honour Britain's Armed Forces, past, present and future. Armed Forces Day will be Saturday 27th June.

BLUE BUTTERFLY COPYRIGHT OF TOM SCOTT One of our own has been honoured ...

Mr. Richard Larn, a local maritime historian, international author, and Cornish Bard has just been honoured with an OBE. You can meet with, and chat to, Mr. Larn whilst here on your holiday, as he hosts two fascinating activities: Wednesdays - "Rags & Riches"- evening digital picture show, covering 18th - 19th century Scillonian history; Fridays - "Star Castle, Garrison & Hugh Town Walk"

What our visitors have to day about us ...

Here is a small list of what visitors in April and May said was the highlight of their visit:

"trusting nature of the islands; friendly community;wildlife; tranquility; swimming off beach; re-living memories; coastal walks and natural trails; fishing; snorkelling with seals;loveliness of the location; gig racing; spring flowers; St Martin's; SeaQuest trip; Tresco; Will Wagstaff's tours; island produce; the horse-riding school"

The Isles of Scilly ... a tropical, timeless treasure-trove: experience a step back in time, where there are few roads, miles of empty sandy beaches, welcoming locals, and array of experiences to discover.

BIH Winter 09 Newsletter: 1.9 Mb; BIH Winter 09 Newsletter

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