CLIMATE
The climate of the Isles of Scilly is characterised as oceanic, with mild wet winters, mild sunny summers, frequent strong winds and gales, and also sea fogs. A major influence on the climate is the North Atlantic Drift, an arm of the Gulf Stream. Compared with the Cornish mainland Scilly has milder winters (February mean 7.3°C) and cooler summers. The average monthly mean temperature is 11.7°C (National Meteorological Library). With most days in the year having a temperature usually above 5°C, many plants can grow in Scilly that cannot survive on the mainland. This also includes winter annuals that grow throughout winter and flower very early in spring. As many plants on the islands are frost-sensitive the occasional bad winter can cause a considerable amount of damage. Fortunately snow and frost are much less frequent than on the adjacent mainland. Snowfalls are relatively infrequent; frosts are occasional and usually neither very hard nor long-lasting.
The rare occasions when there have been more severe frosts have had a devastating effect on the vegetation, especially the ‘exotic’ plants. Winter 1987/8 was one such occasion, with almost all the evergreen Pittosporum hedges being either killed outright or cut to the ground. Hottentot fig Carpobrotus edulis is one species that can be susceptible to both frost and salt water, but as the stands are usually dense there is nearly always a piece of the plant protected enough to survive and grow again. Rainfall is low compared with Cornwall, 825mm per year on average; some of the rain clouds appear to pass over the low islands without precipitation. The islands are prone to sea fogs and this increases the general humidity, which is reflected in the rich lichen flora – also an indicator of the clean air and lack of industrial pollutants.
As the former Duchy Land Steward wrote, ‘the weather in Scilly is characteristically unpredictable’ (Pontin, 1999). Gales and strong winds over force 8 are a frequent feature, and not just in winter: gales can happen throughout the year. Visitors can sometimes find themselves marooned on the island they are staying on for several days when the boats stop plying due to rough seas. Some of us have considered this a bonus at times!
THE SCILLONIANS
The Isles of Scilly have had almost 4,000 years of continuous occupation since the arrival of Bronze Age farmers (Thomas, 1985), but for centuries before that nomadic people who left little sign of their presence other than a few flints had visited the islands. The population has fluctuated and there have been many incomers over the centuries. Not many of the current families can trace their ancestors back more than a few hundred years, usually to the 1640s or 1650s (court records show the Trezise family was in the islands in the thirteenth century). Some are probably descendants of soldiers who came to man the Garrison and married local women. The inhabitants of St Agnes used to be known as Turks as they tended to be short and swarthy and were reputed to have had an exotic ancestry. As on other British islands such as Orkney (Berry, 1985) there has been a continuous stream of people, including Neolithic visitors, Bronze Age and Iron Age inhabitants, pirates, smugglers, Cromwellian soldiers, Royalists, French traders, British servicemen in both World Wars, land-girls, and men and women who came to staff hotels and other establishments. Many of these peoples stayed, married locals, and their descendants have added to the rich mix of heritage in the population.
Population
The resident population of the islands has stayed at around 2,000 for many years. Of these about 1,600 live on St Mary’s, with about 160 on Tresco and 100 on each of the other inhabited islands (St Martin’s, Bryher and St Agnes). During the summer holiday season visitors approximately double the population.
The Duchy of Cornwall
The Isles of Scilly became part of the original Duchy of Cornwall in 1337 when Edward, the Black Prince, became the first Duke of Cornwall. Today the islands are still owned by the Duchy, administered by a resident Land Steward. The Duchy is governed by a Council, of which His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall is Chairman. Much of the land on the inhabited islands is in agricultural tenancies, with the exception of the island of Tresco, which is leased to the Dorrien-Smith family, and Hugh Town, which became freehold in 1949 (Mumford, 1987). In 1999 there were some sixty farm-holdings, covering 557 hectares, of which 182 are in horticultural use, mostly bulbs. The average farm on the smaller islands of Bryher, St Agnes and St Martin’s is very small, sometimes less than 10 ha, although those on St Mary’s and Tresco are proportionately larger. Many fields are equally small, some less than 0.1ha (Pontin, 1999). Some 1,845 hectares of the unfarmed land are now leased to the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, mostly heath, wetland and coast on the inhabited islands and including all the uninhabited rocks and islands.
The Council of the Isles of Scilly
The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a unitary authority (Local Government Act 1972, as applied by the Isles of Scilly Order 1978). This means the Council has unusual powers in that it has all the functions of county, district and parish councils as well as replacing the Environment Agency and the airport authorities in the islands. The islands are not automatically included in all national legislation. There are sometimes specific references or amendments to ensure that legislation also refers to the islands.
TRAVELLING TO THE ISLES OF SCILLY
These days getting to Scilly is no longer the difficult and chancy business it was in the past, and we can easily forget that for earlier visitors the journey was frequently an ordeal. Passengers could arrange to go by sailing ship to the islands, but it was not until the start of the regular mail boat after 1827 that there was an organised service from Penzance to St Mary’s. Even so the passage usually took eight to nine hours and at times as much as two days. Things picked up when a steamer service started about 1858, and a year later the railway was extended to Penzance. Then in 1937 the air service started linking Scilly with the mainland, offering an alternative and much quicker route for those reluctant to brave the sea crossing.
The RMV Scillonian (Fig. 6) is the third of that name to have carried freight and passengers between Scilly and the Cornish mainland. She sails most days (except Sunday) between spring and autumn, the crossing taking about two and a half hours according to conditions. The Scillonian is notorious for her rolling motion, which is due to her shallow draft, designed to enable her to enter the shallow waters around the islands; but the possibility of seeing unusual seabirds, cetaceans and other excitements during the passage makes her popular with many visitors. The alternative routes to Scilly are by air, either fixed-wing plane or helicopter, both of which take about twenty minutes; but neither flies if there is fog. Flying is the only route in winter when the Scillonian is laid up. A second ship, the MV Gry Maritha, now transports most freight to the islands. Inter-island launches meet the ships in St Mary’s and transfer goods of all kinds to the ‘off-islands’, as the other four inhabited islands are known locally.
FIG 6. The RMV Scillonian in harbour after her two-and-a-half-hour sail from Penzance. July 2006. (Rosemary Parslow)
Tourism
It was not until after World War II that Scilly became really popular as a holiday destination, with hotels and guesthouses opening up to accommodate many more visitors, including many naturalists. In 2003 Scilly attracted 122,000 visitors (Isles of Scilly Tourist Information). Tourism now accounts for some 85 per cent of the island economy, although apparently a significant amount of the profits goes off the islands to the mainland-based owners of holiday property and hotels. Most visitors stay in holiday accommodation on the islands, including hotels, guesthouses, cottages and camp sites. Others arrive and stay on their yachts and motor cruisers.
THE UNIQUENESS OF THE SCILLONIAN FAUNA AND FLORA
We will see in later