26 August 2019:
St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly:
The Far West of Great Britain

By Corey Sandler

We have sailed along the bottom of Cornwall to its southwestern tip and then to the Isles of Scilly, about 28 miles or 45 kilometers out to sea.

There are about 145 islands in total, only 5 inhabited.

We came to port in Hugh Town on the island of Saint Mary’s. There’s also Tresco, Saint Martin’s, Bryher, and Saint Agnes, which is the southernmost point in England.

Hugh Town is like traveling back in time forty, fifty, a hundred years ago. We moved in and out of the clouds, and I began to think–and eventually photograph–in black-and-white. Here are photos from today:

Silver Wind at anchor between St. Mary’s and Tresco islands
All photos by Corey Sandler 2019, all rights reserved

The Isles of Scilly have one of the most moderate climates in the U.K., tempered by North Atlantic Current—a finger of the Gulf Stream. Frost or snow is rare.

The current extends northeastward from Newfoundland Rise, a submarine ridge off the Grand Banks of Canada. The stream transports more warm tropical water to northern latitudes than any other boundary current.

That is why winter in London is relatively moderate, even though London is at about the same latitude as Winnipeg, Manitoba or Red Bay, Labrador in Canada. Trust me, Labrador and Manitoba are very cold places.

And what do they do with that extra bit of warmth in the Isles of Scilly?

The chief agricultural product is cut flowers, mostly daffodils, harvested months ahead of the mainland.

Other than daffodils, the islands are mostly low heather and bare rock, lashed by Atlantic storms from time to time.

All photos and text Copyright 2019 by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved. See more photos on my website at http://www.coreysandler.com

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