Islands of DARKNESS
Stargazing on the Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly aren’t quite like anywhere I’ve ever been before. English country houses stand in the shade of palm trees, while dry stone walls line paths down to white sandy beaches. Take a swim off the shoreline and you’ll find some of the clearest waters in the world. The feeling is a unique blend of tropical island and British countryside on these most southerly islands of the United Kingdom, where the Irish Sea meets the Atlantic.
But the real draw of the Isles of Scilly (at least for stargazers), is not what the island has, but what it does not have – light pollution. Located 45km off the Cornish coast, the skies above the Isles of Scilly are phenomenally dark. So when I stepped off the plane to a clear blue sky, I couldn’t wait for night-time.
The airport is located on the island of St Mary’s, but my destination was on St Martin’s, meaning I had to hop on a boat over to the island. I was soon settling into my shepherd’s hut next to the St Martin’s Vineyard.
