Isles of Scilly for a week with kids

[scooterscoots]

Booked this last summer & now it’s coming around quick (we are going in May half term for a week)

Husband is concerned it’s going to be a disaster as we are there for a week with a 7 & 2.5 year old. He’s saying if the weather is shit we are very limited on what we do. He has a point & something I should have thought more about when I booked it but didn’t. We are staying on St Mary’s. Can anyone please recommend any experiences/things to do whatever the weather over there? Thank you in advance.

It’s beautiful, an easy place to be, very safe.
take raincoats in case but it’s a microclimate and more than likely will be gorgeous. Boat rides and playing on the beach. Seal and puffin spotting.

It’s a truly incredible and special place. My family’s most favourite holidays. You don’t need ‘experiences’. Get some decent waterproof coats and shoes you can walk in.
Pick a different island to visit each day and that is nearly the whole week done. Boat trip out to look for seals. Hire bikes. And just wander from lovely beach to cafe to beach. It’s small and safe and your kids can just run and be free. Go up the garrison. See the star castle. With small children these things will easily take up most of your day.

Favourite things-
ice cream and the Turks head on St Agnes, the blockhouse and beaches on Tresco,
Olivia’s kitchen, Hell bay and great porth on Bryer
St Martin’s has some excellent beaches.
Carn Vean Cafe, Juliet’s and Old town on St Mary’s for cake and lovely food. The walks around the coast line are my absolute most favourite place in the world and very accessible even with small children.
I’m unbelievably jealous!

Oh you lucky things! I first took my kids when my youngest was 1 and he's now 23 and not only do the kids all still come with us, their partners do too. Walk, cycle, picnic, play on the beach, go on boats to other islands... basically step back in time and have fun together. Nice pubs, nice food, nice people.

Thanks all. We live in Cornwall so not far, just wondering if the weather is bad if the boat hopping would even be working. Thank you for the comments, it does sound lovely.

Lovely place, but we found the sea freezing.
Don't take the trip out to the Bishop Rock lighthouse if it's windy. Terrifying!

Take them to Tresco for a run around, beautiful garden!

It would be really unusual for the boats to be cancelled due to bad weather in May - just pack waterproofs. I find my time harder to fill in Cornwall than in Scilly - which is why I now do my holidays there instead.

St Mary's is nice - but very much akin to a small Cornish town, the off islands are what make Scilly special.

As suggested above, get boats to the off islands - the beaches are never busy and much safer for children than in Cornwall - as there's no rip tides.

St Martins and Tresco have the best beaches - even in the height of summer you're unlikely to be sharing beaches with more than 10 people.

You could book a sea safari on a nice day, or hire kayaks and explore the coastlines.

The Abbey Gardens on Tresco are fabulous, and you can hire bikes as the roads are less rough than other islands.

Ice cream on St Agnes is a must, as is fudge on Bryher.

Lunch at Juliets on St Mary's, and Dibble & Grub are good - you can hire golf buggies on St Marys to whip round the island and see as much of it as possible.

Inter island boats run in all weathers! I’ve been on them! The main thing that limits it is the extreme low tides that happen at certain times of the year but I’m fairly sure May half term isn’t one of them. And even then there is still plenty to choose from. The boats are never full- they just bring out another one! Last year I did Bryher to St Mary’s in pouring rain and v.strong winds. Adventures we will never forget!
If you want a golf buggy book it well in advance! If you are self-catering you may want to look into a food order. Especially if you have very specific requirements for any reason.

@Smartiepants79@Dazedandconfused28 had no idea about the golf karts! Thank you!

You'll find the inter island boats don't run to all islands every day. I would plan to have my first two days on st Mary's to find my feet and the next four days I would plan to do a day trip to each of st martins, Tresco, st Agnes and Bryher. And if I loved one island particularly I would go back again and leave somewhere to do on another trip. Eg a 10 am boat to Tresco. Hire bikes including a seat or trailer for the little one. Explore the island. Have pizza for lunch at the Ruin. Climb over Blockhouse. Enjoy the white sand of Pentle Bay. Cycle back across the island. Have tea and icecream in the new inn. Play on the beach. Visit the gallery. The 7 year old can climb some rocks with one of you while the other digs sandcastles with the 2 yo. Take the 4pm boat home happy and with a day full of family adventures behind you.

The only time I have ever been and there weren’t boats to every island was at Easter. Start of the season and at the lowest spring tides. The tides made the quay on Bryher inaccessible. Other than that there have been boats to every where every day.