The Isles of Scilly: a staycation that feels like you’re abroad

First-time visitors to the Isles of Scilly are hard to find. Once you discover this spell-bindingly beautiful archipelago twenty eight miles off the Cornish coast you quickly become part of its fiercely loyal legion of fans. Indeed, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge for a return visit.

It came as no surprise, then, to learn that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to holiday on the island of Tresco in the heart of the Scillies twice in close succession this year. Returning in October just two months after their first visit, it’s clear the royal couple have cottoned on to something good: turquoise waters, white sand that glitters in your fingers, sub-tropical flora and a rugged otherworldly feel that only seems fitting for the last scrap of British soil in the Atlantic before you reach America.

With their warm microclimate and seas that on a sunny day look like they’ve been stolen from the Aegean, the islands are about as close as you’ll get to feeling as though you’re abroad without actually leaving the UK.