9 amazing British islands to visit in 2016: from Sark to Fair Isle

You don’t need to travel abroad to get away from the hustle and bustle of life in the UK, says Ashley Coates
Image: Kenneth Barker
Ashley Coates26 September 2016

There are 267 permanently inhabited islands that make up the British Isles, and thousands of uninhabited islands waiting to be explored.

Here are just a few…

Sark, Channel Islands

Bored of rush hour traffic? Why not visit an island where cars are banned and horse-and-cart is the primary means of transport?

Sark is a Crown fief and part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Its population of 600 permanent residents have their own parliament and make their own legislation based on Norman law, hence this island’s reputation as an outpost of feudalism. Sark is not technically part of the UK or the EU and is considerably closer to France than England.

Despite its small size (5.45 km²), the island has had a dramatic history, from the Romans, to the Black Death, to the Nazi invasion of the Channel Islands in 1940. Fly into Guernsey and get onto the ferry to Sark, which takes 50 minutes.


St Agnes, Isles of Scilly

Image: Adam Tinworth

Located 24 miles south of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of five inhabited islands and an array of smaller, uninhabited, islands. Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his family came to the Scillies every summer, and he was later buried on the largest of the islands, St Mary’s.

With a permanent population of 82, St Agnes sits at the most south-westerly end of the Scillies, and has an “edge of the Earth” feel about it. Its pristine white sandy beaches contrast with a harsh, weather-beaten, rocky landscape, sculpted by years of exposure to the Atlantic. For a dramatic entrance, take the helicopter from Penzance in Cornwall, and then the ferry from St Mary’s.


The Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland

Image: David_S

With a name straight out of Monty Python, the Holy Island was the site of the Lindisfarne Priory, established in 634AD. Today the Priory that was once the cradle of English Christianity lies in ruins but a 16th century castle built above it remains. Only 164 people live on the island, separated from the mainland twice a day by the tide.

Bucket list desitinations in the UK

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Mersea Island, Essex

Image: Herry Lawford

The Essex of The Only Way is Essex is a far cry from “real Essex”. There is a reason why the rolling countryside of North Essex was the subject of so many of Constable’s best-known works.

You can stay on the mainland and visit Dedham Vale, or head out to England’s most easterly island, Mersea, a tidal isle in the Blackwater Estuary. There has been an oyster fishing community here since Roman times and today the Essex oystermen still bring in the best catches in England, destined for some of London’s top restaurants, including tables at The Ritz.


Islay, Scotland

Image: Nigel Brown

If you are not into whisky now, you will be after this trip. Islay is home to eight distilleries, including some of Scotland’s most famous single malts, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bruichladdich, Laphroaig, Bowmore, Lagavulin and Bunnahabhain.

But Islay’s nickname as the Queen of the Hebrides has more to do with its impressive wildlife scene and dramatic 130-mile coastline. Every winter, the island is host to large flocks of migrating geese as well as an array of rare birds such as the corncrake and chough.


Lundy Island, Devon

Image: Rebecca Withers

Five times a day, the MS Oldenburg makes its way from North Devon to this three-mile long granite outcrop in the middle of the Bristol Channel. The Oldenburg allows a small number of visitors to wander around the island, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, for a few hours before going back to the mainland. Outside of this time, the holidaymakers renting Lundy’s 23 properties have the whole island to themselves.


Fair Isle, Scotland

Image: Tom Reading

The most remote inhabited island in the British Isles, Fair Isle is a wild, craggy, wind-swept rock off Shetland. It’s a haven for wildlife, from migratory birds to whales, seals, dolphins and porpoises.


Alderney, Channel Islands

Image: TheOnlyMoxey

The “forgotten” island in the English Channel, Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands and the third largest. Although Julie Andrews and Ian Botham have been counted among Alderney’s visitors, it has never drawn in the same number of tourists as Jersey or Guernsey. As such, it has retained the feel of a community lost in time.

It’s home to an extraordinary 1034 different species of wild flower, more than almost anywhere else in the British Isles relative to its size. But Alderney is better known for being home to a puffin colony and the extremely rare blonde-haired hedgehog. It’s well connected too, with flights from Bristol, Belfast, and London City, via Guernsey.


Tresco, Scilly Isles

Image: Alistair Young

Measuring just 1.15 square miles, Tresco is the second largest island in the Isles of Scilly archipelago after St Mary’s. Considerably larger than St Agnes, but also far quieter than St Mary’s, Tresco offers the seclusion of island life with the comforts of a self-contained holiday resort.

Leased by the Duchy of Cornwall to the Dorrien-Smith family since 1834, Tresco offers a range of holiday rentals, from traditional fishermen’s cottages to modern New-England style beach-houses that make the most of views out to sea.

Apart from golf buggies, and a tractor that shuttles day visitors around the island, there are no vehicles to speak of, making this one of the most peaceful holiday destinations in the UK.

Follow Ashley on Twitter: @Ashley_Coates

Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle

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