Ah, the sweet smell of spring is finally here. Flowers are beginning to bloom, the sun has started to shine and there is hope on the horizon for a great British summer!
I’m sure you’ll agree that spending so many months at home has only made our adventurous, curious hearts grow fonder with a passion for travel and exploration.
I will appreciate my upcoming travel trips so much more, and it has only made my job as travel Editor, and the content in our latest issue, seem even more special than usual!
Lockdown might have put a stop to many things, but it certainly hasn’t stopped the travel industry preparing to ensure a super fun and warm welcome once it is safe for visitors to return. From new hotels and luxury spas, exciting holiday resorts full of adventure and off-grid activities, luxury boutique stays in acres of unspoilt countryside and coastline, brand new attractions to immersive one-of-a-kind experiences – it seems there has perhaps never been a better time to explore the British Isles!
With so much ‘British staycation’ wanderlust flying about we couldn’t resist compiling our Ultimate British Bucket List. Deep in the West Dorset countryside we Meet the Makers behind the world’s only vodka made from cows’ milk. We uncover 10 of the most wonderful places to visit in Yorkshire and discover that there’s much more than just Cheddar Cheese and ancient apple orchards to Somerset’s epicurean offering in The Rise of Food and Drink. In search of beautiful destinations where social distancing is made easy, you won’t find better than a remote Sea Garden Cottage on the white sandy shores of Tresco island, a luxury family stay in the heart of Suffolk’s rolling countryside at The Ickworth or a whisky tour around the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, Islay - the Lord of the Isles.
Wherever, and whenever, you next plan to take a holiday in the British Isles, we hope British Travel Journal continues to deliver as your indispensable travel magazine, and wish you a safe and seamless journey full of wonderful memories.
Pictured left-right: The
Pictured left-right: The New Inn; Gallery Tresco; all other images Tresco Abbey Gardens. TRESCO ABBEY GARDEN Tresco Abbey Garden, built around the 12th-century ruins is home to a wonderful variety of sub-tropical species. Augustus Smith established the Abbey Garden in 1834 - he built up a collection of exotic plants from South Africa, Brazil and Mexico that thrived in the micro-climate - and the gardens have been lovingly tended by successive generations of the same family ever since. There’s not a bad time of the year to visit - thanks to the balmy weather plants flower in Tresco all year round. Visit in the spring to see flowers blooming weeks islanders in need of some good conversation and time to catch up with friends. As a holidaymaker, you are made to feel every bit as welcome as the locals, the atmosphere is warm and inviting with genuine wreck wood and marine relics adorning the ceilings, beams and walls. They serve traditional pub fare from crispy whitebait and dressed Bryher crab to traditional cottage pie, using locally grown, reared and landed produce. There’s also a sheltered terrace decorated with candlelight and fairy lights, and occasionally live music - an opportunity for visitors and locals to dance the night away under the stars! We popped into the gallery next door - formerly the pilot gig shed, the Gallery Tresco hosts art by some of Cornwall's most established artists, as well as a selection of unique giftware inspired by the islands. We then continued our stroll south to Tresco Abbey Gardens, turning left along Abbey Drive for a river walk (or head straight onto Appletree Road passing Appletree Bay). 78 BritishTravelJournal.com
“ Visit in the spring to see flowers blooming, and in the autumn, beautiful reds, golds and ambers contrast with the magnificent proteas, aloes and camellias. ” ahead of those on the mainland, and in the autumn to see beautiful reds, golds and ambers contrast with the magnificent proteas, aloes and camellias - even during the winter solstice, there are usually more than 300 species of plant in flower! A tradition dating back 150 years, there is a flower count to see how many different species are in bloom conducted by the team of gardeners in the first week of every new year - the record is 313 in 2017. Tresco Abbey Garden is one of the main attractions in the Isles of Scilly, there are daily tripper boats from the neighbouring islands of St Mary’s, Bryher and St Martin’s, and regular trips from St Agnes, but if you’re lucky it is not unusual, especially at either end of the season, to visit at a time when you have the gardens almost entirely to yourself. Luckily for us it was one of those occasions. We had fun looking out for red squirrels as we roamed the garden's criss-cross paths through towering palms and giant trees, admiring the great blue spires of Echium and shocking-pink drifts of Pelargonium. Don’t miss the fascinating Valhalla Museum – a collection of figureheads collected from shipwrecks around the islands - and take a pit stop at the Garden Cafe for a coffee and cake - there’s a wellstocked gift shop and an interesting exhibition telling the history of the Abbey Garden. We fancied a movie night in, so were delighted to discover a good selection of DVDs available to rent from the Tresco Stores on the way back to our cottage, (alternatively, there’s the option to log into Netflix from your cottage). Walking back to Old Grimsby Quay we passed St Nicholas’ Church and the primary school before stopping in at Lucy-Tania, Tresco’s boutique and sewing studio. à BritishTravelJournal.com 79
