A Car-free Adventure On The Isles Of Scilly, Cornwall

The Cornish archipelago has stunning coastal walking trails, flora and fauna in abundance, festivals and delicious food, with a soundtrack of roaring waves and birdlife

Visitors to the Isles of Scilly, about 30 miles off the Cornish coast, are not allowed to bring cars, so these walkable, flowering islands are one of the UK’s ultimate car-free destinations. A new Ocean Scilly Festival in late August will offer rock-pooling, gig racing, shipwreck tours and the chance to kayak to an uninhabited island.

Today, as I wander the sandy coast path of Tresco with my husband, the tranquil island feels like paradise. In the evening light, stately pines, tree ferns and wine palms sprout from a jungle of pink-flowered geraniums. But getting here has been a turbulent nautical adventure. And last week, a planned fast ferry service was axed before carrying a single fare-paying passenger.