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Garden
Tresco Abbey Garden
Garden founded by Augustus Smith in the 19th century around a ruined Benedictine abbey, growing subtropical plants; pay at the gate.
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A mini guide to
Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's & St Agnes: things to do
Places worth your time in Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's & St Agnes
Top places
Things to do in Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's & St Agnes
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Museum
Valhalla figurehead collection
Ship figureheads and other relics of Scilly's maritime history, displayed inside Tresco Abbey Garden.
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Historic fortification
Cromwell's Castle
Round tower built after the Royalist Scillies were conquered in 1651, on the shore north of New Grimsby harbour.
Historic fortification
King Charles's Castle
Ruins of a small artillery fort built under Edward VI and garrisoned by Royalists in 1651; reached by a steep heathland path.
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Historic fortification
Old Blockhouse
16th-century fort guarding Old Grimsby harbour, attacked in the Civil War; about 20 minutes' walk from Old Grimsby, with steep steps.
Beach
Pentle Bay
Long sandy beach on Tresco's east side, part of a protected area that includes seabird islands such as Round Island.
Nature reserve
Shipman Head and Hell Bay
Bryher's wild northern tip above Hell Bay, with waved heath and a seabird colony; closed during the breeding season.
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Island
Samson
Uninhabited since 1855; the whole island is protected as a scheduled landscape. Some tripper boats drop visitors on uninhabited islands.
Landmark
St Martin's Daymark
Red and white tower built in 1683 on Chapel Down, St Martin's highest point, with views across the islands.
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Landmark
St Agnes Lighthouse
Lighthouse first lit in 1680 and decommissioned in 1911, when Peninnis Lighthouse replaced it; the white tower still stands.
Island
Gugh
Islet joined to St Agnes by a sandbar at low tide, with seabird colonies, heath and the Old Man standing stone.
Nature reserve
Wingletang Down
Exposed heath on St Agnes with wind-pruned heather and rare plants, including a fern that grows nowhere else in the UK.
Photo credits
- Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's & St Agnes (area photo): Tom Corser, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tresco Abbey Garden: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Valhalla figurehead collection: Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cromwell's Castle: Martin Tester, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- King Charles's Castle: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Old Blockhouse: Andrewrabbott at English Wikipedia (released into the public domain), Public domain, source
- Pentle Bay: Tom Corser, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
- Shipman Head and Hell Bay: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Samson: Andrewrabbott, Public domain, source
- St Martin's Daymark: MichaelMaggs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- St Agnes Lighthouse: Michael Steele, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gugh: Andrewrabbott at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Wingletang Down: Andrew Abbott, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- St Mary's & Hugh Town: Chris Gorringe, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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