Eastern Isles
The Eastern Isles are a scattered archipelago of uninhabited rocky islets and reefs lying to the east and northeast of the main island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly, off the southwestern tip of Cornwall. They form one of the most dramatic and ecologically rich corners of an already extraordinary island group, set within the warm currents of the North Atlantic Drift that give Scilly its remarkably mild microclimate. These islets, which include names such as Nornour, Great Ganilly, Great Arthur, Little Arthur, Menawethan, and Hanjague among others, are uninhabited by humans today but teem with wildlife, and they represent one of the finest sea kayaking, boat-tripping, and wildlife-watching destinations in the British Isles. Their remoteness and the fact that no roads, hotels, or permanent residents disturb them gives the Eastern Isles a quality of genuine wildness rare anywhere in England.
The history of the Eastern Isles reaches back thousands of years and holds some of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries in Britain. On Nornour, the largest and most historically significant of the group, excavations in the 1960s uncovered the remains of a Bronze Age settlement along with an extraordinary cache of Roman artifacts — more than two hundred and fifty brooches, figurines, and other votive objects — suggesting the site was used as a shrine, possibly by passing sailors seeking divine protection before venturing into the open Atlantic. The sheer volume and quality of these Roman finds on such a remote rock astonished archaeologists and raised enduring questions about the nature of religious practice and maritime culture in late Iron Age and Roman Britain. It is thought that what are now separate islets were once joined to each other and perhaps to St Mary's itself, forming a much larger landmass before rising sea levels fragmented the landscape over the past few millennia. This geological submergence has shaped the mythology of Scilly considerably.
The physical character of the Eastern Isles is one of raw, elemental beauty. The islets rise from crystalline turquoise and emerald waters in great humps and blades of pale granite, their surfaces carpeted with heather, bracken, sea campion, and thrift in season. In spring the pink and white of flowering plants softens the grey granite, and the air is thick with the calls of seabirds. Seals haul themselves onto the lower rocks with unselfconscious ease, and the surrounding shallows are extraordinarily clear — on calm days you can see the sandy bottom at considerable depth, giving the water a Caribbean quality of transparency that never quite loses its ability to surprise visitors used to the murky seas of mainland Britain. The sound of the place is one of wind, wave, and bird: the barking of grey seals, the crying of herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls, and on quieter days the rhythmic slap of swell against granite.
The wider setting of the Eastern Isles within the Isles of Scilly amplifies their appeal. The archipelago as a whole is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the surrounding waters form part of the Isles of Scilly Marine Special Area of Conservation, reflecting the exceptional biodiversity of both the terrestrial and marine environments. St Mary's, the main inhabited island with its small capital of Hugh Town, is just a short boat ride to the west, while the off-islands of St Martin's and St Agnes are also within the wider visual frame on clearer days. The Eastern Isles themselves sit at the southeastern edge of the archipelago, meaning they catch the full force of any weather coming from that direction but also sit bathed in light on fine mornings when the low sun catches the granite and the water alike.
Visiting the Eastern Isles requires some planning but is straightforward for those already on Scilly. The most common way to see them is on one of the regular boat trips that depart from St Mary's Quay throughout the season, typically running from April through to October. These trips circle the islets, allowing close views of the seal colonies and seabird activity without landing. Independent sea kayakers can paddle out from St Mary's on calm days, and landing on some of the rocks is possible for those with watercraft, though conditions can change rapidly and local knowledge and appropriate experience are strongly advisable. The best time to visit is late spring through early autumn, with May and June particularly rewarding for wildflowers and nesting birds. The Eastern Isles lie within the UNESCO-nominated Isles of Scilly World Heritage Site candidacy area, underscoring their cultural and natural importance.
One of the more haunting aspects of the Eastern Isles is the persistent sense of a drowned landscape. At very low tides, old field boundaries and submerged structures become visible beneath the water between some of the islets, giving a ghostly impression of a world now beneath the sea. This has fed local traditions and folklore about lost lands, and while the legend of Lyonesse — the mythical sunken kingdom said to lie between Cornwall and Scilly — is not specifically tied to the Eastern Isles alone, standing on Nornour at low tide and seeing what looks very much like the ruin of a former human landscape beneath the waves, it is easy to understand why such stories took root. The Roman votive objects found there, meanwhile, remain on display in the Isles of Scilly Museum in Hugh Town, where their improbable abundance continues to puzzle and delight anyone who learns of them.