We stayed in a lovely B&B in St Just in the fat west of Cornwall. Had a meal at the Kings Arms where we were joined, uninvited, by a rather sad and lonely old man who wouldn’t shut up. He was a mandolin player originally from Scotland and now living in Bordeaux but visiting friends in Cornwall. Learned way to much about his ex-wife and children. He’d been to Australia to visit a niece and attend a world gathering of Camerons, his surname. When I went to pay for dinner they included his meal and drink because they thought he was with us. I told them, no, don’t know him. Just a random.

In the morning we flew from Land’s End airport to St Mary’s airport in the Scilly Isles about 20 kms west of Land’s End for a day trip. Over at 1030am, back at 1735. The Scilly Steamship Company runs all transport to and from the islands including ferry, planes and helicopters. They are the epitome of how to do tourism. Efficient, effective and pleasant. We flew on a Twin Otter and it took about 15 minutes.

You have to love the English. At the airport at St Mary’s there are shuttle buses into Hugh Town, but also there is a public footpath. We walked out of the terminal and were directed to the footpath. We walked through Old Town, the original harbour for the island. There are Neolithic burial barrows on the islands and the place was probably known to the Phoenicians and Greeks. In the 14th century the islands came under the control of the Earls of Cornwall and Ranulph de Blancminster became the First Governor with a yearly rent of 6s 8d or 300 puffins which were considered a delicacy.

We walked for a couple hours in delightful weather, partly cloudy with the warmth of the early autumn sun and a cooling breeze. A glorious day! At the beach near Hugh Town there were paddlers preparing for a trip to the neighbouring isle of St Agnes.

We walked around the old garrison fort built in the 16th century following the stone wall. Then abruptly the stone wall came to an end and there was a sign indicating that this was the end of the line. I always wondered where the end of the line was and now I know.

We walked into town and had a lovely long seafood lunch at the Atlantic Hotel including a nice bottle of Zinfandel rose from Italy. No puffins on the menu. Very relaxing after the morning walk. After lunch we strolled around town until we got the shuttle bus to the airport and back to the mainland. This time we flew a BN-2 Islander aircraft with just 6 passengers and a pilot. We sat just behind the pilot. Too much fun!

We drove for about an hour and a half before stoping for the night at the Fox & Grapes Inn in Tinhay UK. Had a G&T in the pleasant bar and then to bed.

A day trip by plane had been a treat, and a Scilly thing to do.