The 6 Best Things to do Good for Big Groups in Isles of Scilly, England

Sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, Stand-up paddle boarding, instruction & hires. We are the only licensed water sports provider in the islands. Scilly is a watersports paradise!

St Mary's Boatmen's Association (SMBA)is a co-operative of ten boats that can carry up to 72 to 100 persons per boat. The Association operates between 1st April (or Easter if it falls in March) until 31st October annually. There are trips seven days a week with the boats operating on a rota system. The boats depart St Mary's for the other islands (direct trips)and to see wildlife and the outer rocks and islands (circular trips) at 10:15am and 2:00pm as a minimum. At busier times there are additional departures, particularly to Tresco which should also have services at 11:15 and 12:15. Tides and weather may affect services occasionally. 2014 Prices from £8.50 (child £4.30) return. Most expensive cruises are to Bishop Rock or The Seabird Special at £16. A child fare applies for kids over one year and under fifteen. Take advantage of our 'ten ticket' special offer - Ten direct tickets for £72 (a saving of £13). These tickets can be upgraded on the boats if you want to do a more expensive 'circular'.

Exhibits of local interest from pre-history to the present day: the Romano-British brooches and coins from Nornour; the Bryher Sword and Mirror; the Civil War in Scilly; finds from many shipwrecks; model boats; collections of birds, shells and clay pipes; an old Scillonian kitchen and much, much more. The Museum is in Church Street, Hugh Town, St Mary's, half-way between the Town Hall and the Parish Church. We have an excellent reference library and a growing collection of family history records, accessible to the public by appointment with the Curator.

The sub-tropical Abbey Garden is a glorious exception; a perennial Kew without the glass, home to thousands of exotic plants from around the world flourishing right here on the Isles of Scilly... Here off the coast of Cornwall, spring comes early, autumn stays late and winter hardly exists at all. Truly a subtropical paradise, Tresco Abbey Garden is brimming with plants that would stand no chance at all just 30 miles away on the Cornish mainland. The beautiful garden, built in the 19th century around the ruins of a Benedictine Abbey, is home to species from across the world’s Mediterranean climate zones, from Brazil to New Zealand and Burma to South Africa. It’s quite easy to while away a day meandering among sheltered glades of tree ferns or strolling along sunny terraces, gazing out across the borders to the ocean views beyond. Even non-gardeners cannot fail but wonder at the array of scents, sights and sounds that await around every corner.

A vineyard offering self-guided tours and wine tastings. Self guided tours begin at our visitor centre and take you through the site and up to the top field with panoramic views out over the Eastern Isles before returning returning for al fresco wine tasting in front of the winery. The nine Vine Stops will introduce the site, the vines, the wine making techniques and the unique aspects of the site as well as some of the fauna and flora which call this vineyard their home. The wine tasting is an opportunity to try our still white and rose wines, created from the grapes you will have seen on your tour. There is the opportunity to buy the wine as well as our vineyard apple juice and other local produce at the end of your tour. Children and well behaved dogs welcome!