Isles of Scilly - day 1

onboard the Scillonian III

cairn on Buzza Hill above St Mary's

Queasily plucked from bed at 2:15am — begin the family trek down to Penzance — the near edge of the car's headlight ripples over the hedgerows like a bar code scanner — the flavour of place names change as we move west through Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall — 4:30am pit stop at Exeter services — a lone manager sits and goes through paperwork — the sun rises above disused tin mines — the Penzance stevedores compete to look the most Cornish — the crane lifts a car onto the Scillonian III — onboard: a sheltered sunny bench and a snooze — land sneaks up without us realising — the vessel lodges into the harbour at Hugh Town — a horse box is lifted from the boat, and effectively dropped to the ground 5ft below — follow the throng into town — tourist info chalkboards tell you everything you need to know — arrive at Jus Limin with its amazing view over the harbour — welcomed at the butcher's by the resident parrot — trolleys at Co-Op filled with holiday maker's orders —plod up the steep hill to Star Castle — the garrison walls of St Mary's gleam white like battlements from Greece — one section is home to the helter-skelter shape of autumn lady's-tresses — free apples on a roadside table — PRIVATE daubed on a boulder stops us from reaching Newford Island — after dinner, a collective appreciation of the sunset — all asleep by 10