Sites of Interest ... from the Official Tourism Website

St. Mary's

The Garrison, St. Mary's ... is an internationally important site due to the fact that many of its features and ancillary structures have not been significantly altered since they were constructed.This outstanding coastal fortification had its origins in the late 16th century when a star-shaped castle was constructed on a pronounced promontory. The defences were strengthened in 1601 with the addition of a cross wall fortified by integral gun batteries. In about 1650 the promontory was encircled by a Civil War earthen breastwork enhanced by nineteen gun batteries. During the mid 18th century an impressive curtain wall – strengthened by substantial gun batteries – replaced the Civil War defences

Porth Hellick Down Burial Chamber, St. Mary's ... a large and imposing Scillonian Bronze Age entrance grave, with kerb, inner passage and burial chamber all clearly visible.

Bant's Carn Burial Chamber and Halangy Down Ancient Village, St. Mary's ... the remains of an ancient Iron Age village in a wonderfully scenic location.On the hill above stands a Bronze Age burial mound with entrance passage and inner chamber.

Harry's Walls, St. Mary's ... an unfinished artillery fort, built above St Mary's Pool harbour in 1552-53.

Innisidgen Lower and Upper Burial Chambers, St. Mary's ... two Bronze Age communal burial cairns of Scillonian type, with fine views. The upper cairn is the best preserved on the islands.

Carreg Dhu Community Garden ... a 1 1/2 acre Sub-Tropical garden, formed, on several levels, from an old quarry. First started in 1986, the garden sits in a quiet, sheltered spot and boasts a wide variety of sub-tropical plants, shrubs, and trees, as well as an area designated for the preservation of historic narcissi grown on the Islands in the early years of the flower industry.

Old Town Church, St. Mary's ... the Old Town Church graveyard is fascinating; dominated by a memorial to Augustus Smith, founder of Tresco Abbey Garden, and of interest to many as the final resting place of former British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

Tresco

Cromwell's Castle, Tresco... standing on a rocky promontory guarding the lovely anchorage between Bryher and Tresco, this round tower is one of the few surviving Cromwellian fortifications in Britain, built after the conquest of the Royalist Scillies in 1651.

Old Blockhouse, Tresco ... substantial remains of a small 16th-century gun tower protecting Old Grimsby harbour, vigorously defended during the Civil War.

King Charles' Castle, Tresco ...the ruins of a mid 16th-century coastal artillery fort, later garrisoned - hence the name - by Civil War Royalists. Reached from New Grimsby by footpath.

St. Agnes

The Maze ... known by some as the ‘Game of Troy’, on the west side of Castella Down is a circular maze of rounded beach stones, deserted on the springy turf. Rebuilt in 1988, it is said to have been constructed by a lighthouse keeper, centuries ago!

Uninhabited Islands ...

Bishop Rock Lighthouse ...the Bishop Rock Lighthouse, is the tallest lighthouse in the UK and is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s smallest island with a building constructed on it. The original iron-built Bishop Rock Lighthouse was swept away by a storm in 1850 - before it was even completed. The current Bishop Rock Lighthouse, completed in 1887, encases an earlier lighthouse completed in 1858.

Visit Iconic Historic Buildings ...

Don’t miss the iconic 18^th and 19^th century cottages on the now uninhabited islands of Samson and Tean. Recent conservation work funded by the Isles of Scilly AONB Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) and English Heritage means that these buildings are now more easily accessed and understood by visitors. The cottages are managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust.

Facts ...

· In 1651 the Netherlands declared war on Scilly, the last bastion of Royalism during the English Civil War. Though no shots were ever fired, the war lasted 335 years. One of the longest wars in world history ended with the signing of a peace treaty between the Netherlands and Scilly in 1986!

· October 22^nd 1707: four naval vessels under the command of Sir Cloudesley Shovell struck the Western Rocks with the loss of around 2000 men. The tragedy prompted Parliament to offer up to £20,000 to solve the longitude problem, the successful resolution of which by John Harrison changed the face of international sea navigation.

· March-June 1857: George Eliot completed Mr Gilfil’s Love Story during her stay at the post office on St Mary’s, accompanied by her common-law partner, the philosopher George Henry Lewes

· 1860: Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet laureate, visited Tregarthen’s Hotel on St Mary’s where he allegedly composed Enoch Arden

· 1875: German liner Schiller wrecked with the loss of more than 300 passengers. The rescue efforts of Scillonians forged a bond between the Islands and the German state that allegedly spared Scilly from Nazi aggression during World War II.

Nationally Important Heritage

Scilly’s 238 Scheduled Ancient Monuments represent the highest concentration of protected archaeological sites in the UK

Some landscapes, such as the whole island of Samson and Shipman Head Down on Bryher, are protected in their entirety in order to conserve complex historic landscapes

Scilly has 130 Listed Buildings of which 10% are Grades I or II* (the national average is 6%)

Scilly is a Conservation Area in recognition of the Islands’ important historic built landscape