St Martins, The Isles of Scilly
Created | Updated Jun 2, 2003
Getting there:
By launch from St Mary’s. The St Martins main launch is The Voyager, while for some trips The Enterprise; a smaller boat may be used. The boat will pick up people arriving to stay on St Martins from St Mary’s quay, normally at lunchtime and again around 4:30pm. The owners of the hotel/campsite/self catering cottages will meet the boat, often with a vehicle to take the luggage and escort you to where you’re staying. Most boats arrive at the Hotel Quay at Lowertown, although occasionally – depending on the tides the “New” Quay at Highertown will be used.
Geography:
St Martins can be seen as looking a little like a dog bone – it has two distinct wide ends, while the middle is narrower and curves, to the south around Lawrences Bay, and to the north around St Martins Bay. The island has one road running from Lowertown at the western tip to Highertown at the south-east, and most of the houses and shops are located on this, or on it’s one branch, at Highertown where it heads east for a few hundred yards. From this road numerous tractor paths branch off which walkers can follow. To the south-west of this road the island slopes gently to the beaches on St Lawrences Bay and St Martins Flats. To the north-east are The Plains and Chapel Downs, open land covered with bracken and sweet smelling heather.
At the north-east tip of St Martins is The Day Mark, a red and white striped edifice, shaped like a rocket, which was used as a navigation aid. For visitors travelling to the Islands on the Scillonian it is the first thing they will see, and on a clear day the mainland can be seen from there.
Just off the northern coast of St Martins is White Island, which can be reached across the rocks at low tide. On this island are Bronze Age tombs and cairns, as well as caves and Eighteenth Century kelp pits. The Island has three quays: the Old Quay, below Cruthers Hill on St Lawrences Bay, the New Quay on the other side of Cruthers Hill, on Par Beach, and the Hotel Quay, beside St Martins on the Isle Hotel at Lowertown. The Old Quay is no longer used for boats, but is a particularly beautiful location. On the north-east coast of the island – facing out towards Cornwall – is St Martins Bay. This is split by a cluster of rocks into Great Bay and Little Bay, the most stunning of St Martin’s beaches.
Places to Stay:
St Martins on the Isle Hotel at Lowertown. Not quite as upmarket as Tresco’s Island Hotel, but still definitely the height of luxury for the island. The restaurant and Round Island bar look out over Tean Sound towards Tresco and the sunset. The Hotel is a mere seconds walk away from the quay used for most of the boat trips, and is next to a beach lovely to swim at, especially when the tide is coming in of an evening.Middletown Campsite. This is run by Chris and Christine Saville, and is at Middletown, a small cluster of houses not quite at the middle of the island. It is not even really mid-way between Highertown and Lowertown. It is little more than a five minute walk from the Hotel quay, and less than that to the Locker and the Sevenstones Inn at Lowertown. The campsite is very well run; Chris meets campers off the boat with his tractor and trailer to transport the equipment. There are three large camping fields, each with their own water taps. There is an incinerator and bins for all varieties of rubbish – recycling is taken seriously on the islands as there is little room for dumping, as well as a laundry area, and toilet blocks each with two showers that cost 50p each. There is a notice board just outside the campsite that advertises the daily boat trips. Just up the road there is a large barn, in which there are a variety of things available to campers for a small fee. There are freezers for ice packs; eggs, tomatoes and other vegetables are generally there, as well as methylated spirit and other fuel for camping stoves. There is also a gate out of the campsite, which leads to a short path to the beach, a very sandy affair on Lawrences bay.
Polreath Guesthouse. This is at the Highertown end of the Island, and is a small, quiet place. It is in a good location for the Post Office, Bakery and Glenmoor gift shop, as well as for the New Quay. It is about a 20 minute walk to Lowertown, and the nearest beaches are Par Beach and at the Old Quay. Polreath also doubles as a café during the day.
Self catering accommodation. There is a wide variety of self-catering accommodation on the island, from chalets to cottages, of various sizes.
Places to Eat/Shop:
Sevenstones Inn. This is the island pub, and is very popular with islanders and visitors. From the terrace and beer garden there is a view of the islands around Crow Sound, advertised as “probably the best pub view in the world”, and some of the gig races can be followed through strong binoculars. It serves excellent lunches and evening meals, particularly recommended are the fish and chips. It can be found at Lowertown, up a path from the road.Polreath. The Highertown guest house is open from 10am-4pm (2pm on Saturdays due to holiday change overs) for drinks, cakes, snacks and very tasty lunches. It has indoor seating (including a conservatory), patio and garden area, which are home to several sparrows. It also sells Roskilly’s clotted cream ice cream, one of mankind’s more wonderful creations.
The Round Island Bar at the Hotel. This is open throughout the day for snacks, light lunches and cream teas. It can be quite pricey, but the portions are large and tasty. In bad weather you can sit in the comfy lounge area with log fires, on fine days you can sit in the garden looking towards Tresco.
The Longships Restaurant. This is the restaurant at St Martins on the Isle and is open to non-residents, though booking is required. There is also a dress code, smart-casual, no jeans and trainers allowed.
The St Martins Bakery. Run by Toby and Louise Tobin-Dougan this is a recent (in island time) addition. It has been open for around four years now, and sells a wide range of goodies. Loaves and rolls of fresh bread can be bought, or filled for sandwiches while you wait. They also have a selection of pies and pasties, and pizzas can be ordered for the evenings. Here, as at the Locker and the Post Office Stores you can run up an account during your stay.
The Locker. Situated at Lowertown, just below the pub, this is a general stores, where you can buy fruit and veg, cold meat and cheese as well as a variety of other food stuffs and items. This is the nearest shop to the campsite, and it contains most things campers will need, apart from bread.
The Post Office. This also doubles as a general stores for Highertown. There is some overlap between
Things to do:
There are boat trips from St Martins every day – there are boards outside the Post Office, Campsite and Hotel that will advertise the next day’s trips. At least one, usually two boats go to St Marys, and nearly always one to Tresco. If you stay for a week you should also have the opportunity for trips to Bryher and St Agnes, and during the season gig races, cricket matches and tours of the Eastern Isles or Western Rocks for the seals and birds.
During the summer there may be cricket matches on the pitch by Par Beach and Higher Town Quay, and evening bird watching walks once a week. There is also a diving school on the island, where you can learn to dive, or if you’re experienced go out diving around the islands. They also do trips to the Eastern Isles to go snorkelling with the seals. All equipment is provided.
There are two small art galleries on the island: Sue Lewington’s at Higher Town, next to the bakery, she also has work by other artists, and Middle Town gallery also with a range of arts and crafts to view or buy. St Martin’s is also known for its flowers – narcissi and pinks – Churchtown farm is at Higher Town and you can visit their barn to see the packing and the flowers. The main attractions of the island are, of course, the walks and the beaches. There’s plenty of each to choose from, with the result that you rarely feel crowded. There’s just one thing that you need to take into account – how fast you read and, accordingly, how many books you need to pack.
