The place where it is not Scilly to be carfree
We spent half-term 2021 on the oh-so perfect Isles of Scilly.
We first went for Thomas’s 21st birthday and - being a young couple very much in love - promised we’d come back with our children.
With a 12 year old and a 6 year old, we kept our promise to ourselves.
This isn’t a travel blog, so I will skip the descriptions of the incredible scenery and golden beaches.
The thing that I found fascinating was living for a week in a place that was entirely set up for carfree living.
There are five inhabited islands and the largest is just three miles long.
There are only three ways of reaching the Isles of Scilly (plane, helicopter, passenger ferry) and none of them carry cars as a matter of course. Locals can arrange for their car to be transported to and from the islands on the cargo freighter but it’s not something you’d do for a holiday.
As a result, the archipelago is designed around the assumption that most people won’t have access to a car.
What does that mean in practice?
Well, firstly, a great little public transport system. Ferries connect all five inhabited islands, operating at varying frequencies depending on the season. The largest island, St Mary’s, has a circular bus service and regular shuttles to an from the airport.
Secondly, it’s an incredible place to cycle. St Mary’s is the only island big enough for a road network, but bikes easily outnumber cars. As a result, the motorists you do encounter are expecting to see bikes and are courteous and respectful.
We stayed in a cottage in stunning countryside on the opposite side of St Mary’s from Hugh Town (the capital; if a gorgeous little village can really be called such a thing) nad cycled into town every day. Swooshing through the verdant fields filled with flowers was wonderful.
Thirdly, there’s an incredible system called the Island Carriers. When you leave your accommodation on your last day, you simply leave your bags wherever you’re stayng and the Island Carriers take them to the ferry terminal and check them in. You next see them on the quayside in Penzance. It’s rather disconcerting leaving your bags in a barn in a remote farm and trusting that the whole system will work. But it does and, of course, it means you’re free to do whatever you want with your last day, free from luggage (we hired a boat and explored the uninhabited island of Samson).
Exploring Samson on our last day. You couldn’t do this with a suitcase!
Finally, even though Scilly is tiny, they’ve invented all kinds of systems that aid car-free living. The taxis are much cheaper than most rural cabs as they do a kind of Uberpool by default (though all arranged on big pads of paper: definitely no app!). There’s a gourmet delivery service (rather implausibly run out of the Post Office). Again, it’s all defiantly analogue but it does work. We ordered crab cakes. We were told that if enough crabs were caught that day, they’d be delivered. If not, the chap would phone. He didn’t phone and, sure enough, when we got back from our country walk that day, we found a paper bag hanging on the handle of our cottage door. The boat firm operates an evening ferry to a dockside pub on one of the other islands, bringing you back for bed.
On our way back from the pub on the special evening ferry
I recommend the Isles of Scilly because they’re beautiful.
But also because it’s wonderful to visit somewhere designed entirely around carfree lifestyles.
We felt truly carefree!
