Bryher

Saturday
The sun came back out today, for our last day on the Scilly Isles! Although we came by boat, the Scillonian, from Penzance, we were returning by plane at 6pm to Newquay, and picking up a new rental car at the airport. So we had the best part of the day to enjoy before leaving. When I checked the day’s boat times, I found we could make a brief visit to Bryher, the one island we had yet to visit, leaving at the usual time of 10.15 or 10.30, but because of the tides, they only had one return at 12.45. There was quite a swell this morning, so the boat was rocking around quite a bit. As we climbed up from the quay on Bryher, the track takes you by the little chapel, so we popped in for a quick look, and found these lovely modern stained glass windows, designed by islander Oriel Hicks. We then followed the trail around the north of the island to Hell Bay, where the Atlantic waves pound the shore, yet as you continue, the next bay around was calm and sheltered. At this point, we felt we should probably head back towards Anne Quay to await our boat back to St. Mary’s. This gave me time to take a few shots across to Tresco, with the fishing boats, and Cromwell’s tower in the background. When we got back to St. Marys, we decided to have a last visit to Juliet’s Garden to enjoy a bit of lunch while taking in the beautiful view. Then it was time to walk back to our B&B and do a little rearranging of our bags ready for the flight. They are only very small planes, so baggage allowances are pretty restrictive, so for example our back pack had to go into the suitcase. The airport shuttle bus came for us at 5 pm just an hour before the flight, and the check-in was quick and straightforward. It was quite funny, as just in front of us waiting to check-in was a lady traveling with her mother, whom we have bumped into several times during the week. We first met them the first day walking around the Garrison, we saw them on one of the boat trips, they were at Juliet’s Garden when we had dinner ther the other night ... they must have thought we were stalking them! They were actually flying to Lands End, but we sat and chatted for a while we waited for our respective flights. The weather was perfect for our flight - good visibility and not too bumpy. We were sitting in the front row, I was by the window and Roger was right behind the cockpit, which is open, so he was enjoying himself watching the pilot and co pilot! The flight was just 30 minutes, so we were soon in (a long) line to get our rental car. It wasn’t a long drive to our B&B near Wadebridge, but unfortunately we got caught up in traffic leaving the last day of the Cornwall Show! The B&B is wonderful - in the country, with a lovely big garden, and views over the surrounding countryside, and the rooms spacious and well appointed, so we will be very comfortable for the next three nights!