Exploring Britain’s most untamed corners was a real privilege when researching Wild Escapes, and it’s truly impossible for me to play favourites among the 40 magical places to stay that feature in the book – who could ever choose between a Cornish lighthouse, a Scottish log cabin, a bothy in the Lake District or a Welsh cottage in the shadow of Yr Wyddfa? I often think, however, that the 210 inhabited islands scattered along Britain’s shoreline are real underrated gems, green slices of land surrounded by the Atlantic that promise real adventure without having to leave the UK. Three treasured islands – one in Cornwall, one in Dorset and one in Scotland – feature in Wild Escapes.
St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall
Life goes at a slow pace on the car-free island of St Agnes, one of the Isles of Scilly found 28 miles off the Cornish coast. If you haven’t met the subtropical Scilly archipelago before, you’re in for a treat. Reached by boat or tiny prop plane from Cornwall, this scattering of five inhabited islands feels a world apart from the mainland – think white sand beaches, secret gardens, flower farms and coastal pubs. Each island is different, but St Agnes is a little bit special. This is England’s final frontier – and you can camp right on its edge. Troytown Farm Campsite is in some ways a simple camping spot. The jaw-dropping bit is the location – the fields run gently down to meet the Atlantic, which views of sparkling sea in front of your pitch. Fires are permitted on the beach – a great place to sit as night falls for unpolluted views of the Milky Way.
Image credit: Annapurna Mellor
Eilean Shona, Scotland
“A wild rocky romantic island it is too”, Scottish children’s author J.M Barrie wrote of Neverland. “It almost taketh the breath away to find so perfectly appointed a retreat on these wild shores.” Peter Pan’s fictional island home isn’t real of course, but there’s somewhere in Britain where you can come pretty close. Eilean Shona, an island on Loch Moidart on the West Coast of Scotland, is the real-life place that inspired Barrie’s story of the Boy Who Never Grew Up. The island is now privately owned, but nine holiday cottages scattered across its hills, pine groves and rocky coastline are available for week-long escapes. The island makes for a return to a simpler way of life, and don’t forget your binoculars - Eilean Shona (which means Sea Island in Scots Gaelic) is a wildlife haven where seals loll on rocks, deer hide in bracken and eagles circle overhead.
Image credit: Annapurna Mellor
Brownsea Island, Dorset
Ready your flags, merit badges and three-fingered salute - the island that inspired Robert Baden Powell to start the Scouts movement back in 1907 still has an adventurous spirit today. Brownsea Island, now managed by the National Trust, sits in the calm waters of Poole Harbour, but despite its vicinity to Dorset this little slice of land has a wild spirit, a flourishing wildlife population and a wonderful woodland campsite to explore it all from, only recently opened to the public. Brownsea isn’t big – it’s just one and a half miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide – but it’s home to a surprising array of wildlife habitats, including a population of red squirrels. If this seems like a scene out of a Famous Five book to you – you’re correct. Enid Blyton set Five on Whispering Island on Brownsea.
Image credit: Annapurna Mellor
This article was written by Siân Anna Lewis, travel writer and author of Wild Escapes – a guide to forty unforgettable getaways in Britain’s wild corners, from floating cabins to miniature castles. Inside its pages you will find stunning full colour photography and beautiful locations to escape the daily grind and reconnect with nature.