The only one of the Scilly islands to be privately-owned

The second-largest of the Scilly islands privately owned by the Dorrien-Smith family since 1834, Tresco feels quite different from its neighbouring inhabited islands. It’s much more manicured with an air of exclusivity about it.

Virtually everything on the island is owned by the family – the shops, pub, art gallery and accommodation, which has given it a feel of glossy perfection and sophistication. Even the supermarket feels like a mini Fortnum’s or Harrods food hall, where you can buy vintage wines and fine cheeses, alongside all the usual groceries with prices to match.

Although small, the island offers plenty of accommodation options, from rooms in its New Inn pub to self-catering in one of the granite & slate cottages dotted around the island, many of which are timeshares. Attracting affluent, higher-end tourists, like numerous visitors to the Scillies, many return to the island year after year.

One of the island’s main highlights is its world-renowned sub-tropical Abbey Gardens, a sheltered haven supporting thousands of plant species from around the world. And like elsewhere on the Isles of Scilly, Tresco also has its fair share of wonderful, sandy beaches with talcum-soft sand.

Home to thousands of exotic plants from across the world

The island is famous for its magnificent 19th-century sub-tropical gardens, featuring plants from more than 80 countries that thrive in Tresco’s temperate microclimate and mild, frost-free winters.

Designed by  Lucy  Dorrien-Smith

As well as the wonderful plants, the garden has a lovely ‘Shell House’ featuring beautiful mosaics made from sea shells

Measuring just two and a half miles long by a mile wide, the island is car-free, and visitors can get about either on foot or by hiring bikes. The island is crisscrossed by footpaths and roadways, so is easily accessible. And with only battery-powered buggies for ferrying luggage around, the roads are great for kids, allowing them freedom and safety to explore that they would never get at home.

Sadly, we only visited on a day trip from St. Mary’s, but the island offers a spectacular setting for a traditional family holiday, probably without rival in Britain if you can afford it. Ideal for a sun & sea air beach based break, there are lots of outdoor activities for adults and children alike.

There’s  a range of  dining experiences from the New Inn pub to The Ruin Beach Café.

For a small island, there are surprisingly several choices for eating out, including the Ruin Beach Café, which serves breakfasts, wood-fired pizzas, seafood and more. Our wood-fired pizza ( shown below ) was great and had a view to match!

Getting There

By Air: Fly into St. Mary’s from Land’s End Airport, Cornwall Newquay Airport and Exeter International Airport.

By Sea: The Scillonian ferry sails from Penzance to St Mary’s from spring to late autumn, taking approximately two hours & forty minutes.

If staying on the island, on arrival at St Mary’s, you’ll be met by a Tresco representative who will accompany you on the short boat trip to the island. Since we visited, there is now also a new Isles of Scilly helicopter service available into St. Mary’s which started in May 2018.

* From 2019 Tresco are reinstating a direct helicopter link to the island from Penzance