Scilly: a Self Portrait

The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the South West tip of Cornwall. Around two hundred rocky islets make up the Scillies. The five islands of St Mary's with its main settlement of Hugh Town, Tresco with New Grimsby, St Martin's with White island, St Agnes with Gugh and Bryher with Gweal are inhabited by two thousand two hundred people and are part of the Duchy of Cornwall. Islanders used to speak the Cornish language but this died out in the late Middle Ages.

North Atlantic Drift extends the Gulf Stream and the mild temperatures are conducive to a thriving bird population and flower industry. Tourism and fisheries are mainstays of the local economy with subsistence agriculture. In the first half of the tenth century it is believed the Isles of Scilly came under the rule of King Athelstan of England. On 22 October 1707 under the command of Sir Cloudesley Shovell four Royal Navy warships out of a fleet of twenty-one went down after hitting rocks in bad weather and an estimated one thousand five hundred and fifty sailors lost their lives including Shovell. The Scilly naval disaster is considered one of the worst in maritime history.