What's not to love?

I am in love and have placed these islands onto the proverbial bucket list!!

I woke for about 06:00 hours and, opening the sliding door, saw a pod of dolphins playing off to the right. They were just out of reach of the camera but at least I saw them.

We followed a circular path around the islands so I was able to get an excellent view as we came into the central bay.

I will add more to the blog once I've downloaded the Nikon but the weather is brilliant and the islands, well, a joy.

 We spent a very pleasant few hours on Tresco, visiting the gardens. To get there we had to cross the helipad which made me grin and think of Gibraltar. 

Best thing I can do now is stop yapping about it and start showing the pictures I captured on the phone. I'll annotate the pictures as we go.

Oh and yes, I paddled. Hitched my dress up 1950s style and went out into the water up to my knees. Yes, it was cold but gin clear and alive with wildlife.

The gardens at Tresco cover some acreage, I think they said 16 acres, with some blocked off for the family who still live there. The soil is peat over sand with the top terraces supporting only the hardiest of plants as it is invariably dry. As the terraces move down the soil increases in thickness.

They have, I think, seven gardeners, three of which are students which is a small number for the work they do.

I decided to limit my time here, knowing I would come back to the islands under my own steam and spend a day there. At £15 per adult it's a very good day out. The nice thing is, if you have your garden plan it let's you back in. Perfect.

So paddling and a serious look at the water off Tresco.

Although cold, the water was so nice especially after being all day at sea the previous day. The shallows were a haven for the new hatching fish as well as very small crabs, a few arthropods but no starfish or sea anemones? I would expect them but if they were there, they were not where I was looking.

I was lucky enough to get out there when the island was at low tide, hence the large swathes of bladder wrack. The sand was pure white and small fragments of mica sparkled like glitter. It was a sheer delight.

Returning to the ship I sat in the glorious sunshine enjoying the views. It was indeed a wonderful day and well worth missing out Falmouth to benefit from it.