Walking on the Isles of Scilly - A Guide to Exploring the Isles
Walking on the Isles of Scilly
Price
£9.00
Walk 8 - Bryher
Distance: 9km (5½ miles)
Start: Church Quay on Bryher, 882149
The launches serving Bryher sometimes complete a circuit, dropping passengers at Samson and Tresco too, allowing walkers to enjoy a spot of island-hopping. Bryher looks small on the map but its heavily indented coastline offers a good day’s walk. There are some amazingly rocky points, as well as fine views of the spiky Norrard Rocks off the western coast. Heavy seas occasionally pound Hell Bay when westerly gales are blowing. Initially, it looks as though it is possible to walk from Hell Bay to Shipman Head, but the sea has cut a deep and narrow channel through the headland, effectively making Shipman Head into an island; thus denying access to walkers. Although the population of Bryher is quite small, the island offers a good range of services including accommodation, food and drink.
A walk around the south-west of Bryher leads walkers as close as they can normally get to the Norrard Rocks, unless one of the occasional boat trips is taken out there, as described in the next chapter. The rocks have the appearance of a sunken mountain range with only the peaks showing. The largest rocks are Mincarlo, Maiden Bower, Illiswilgig, Castle Bryher and Scilly Rock. Access to the Norrard Rocks is prohibited from 15th March to 20th August, to protect breeding seabirds. Gweal is a small island separated from Bryher by the narrow channel of Gweal Neck, with access available any time visitors care to reach it by boat.
The route around Bryher is described from Church Quay, but depending on the state of the tides, your launch may well drop passengers at Anne Quay. Even if starting at Church Quay, listen to any announcement the boatman makes, as you may need to be collected from Anne Quay later in the day.
Church Quay is sometimes left high and dry above the water by the ebbing tide. Anne Quay was constructed with the help of Anneka Rice on the popular Challenge Anneka series on BBC television. As anyone would expect, Church Quay was constructed close to a church, so take a peek inside All Saints Church while following a narrow dirt road inland and uphill. Climb up to a crossroads and turn left over a rise. Walk downhill and turn left down a track, then turn left again along a concrete road to pass Veronica Farm.
A coastal track is lined with agapanthus blooms in summer, while fleshy-leaved mesembryanthemum swathes the ground around Green Bay. A coastal path passes banks of bracken and brambles around Samson Hill. Turn around Works Point on the southern end of Bryher, and enjoy views of Tresco, St. Mary’s, Gugh, Samson, the Bishop Rock and Norrard Rocks. Continue walking around Stony Porth and enjoy the exceptionally rocky scenery around Droppy Nose Point. The sea beyond is filled with the spiky shapes of the Norrard Rocks.
Leaving Droppy Nose Point, follow a path over the crest of Heathy Hill and walk around the lovely curve of Great Porth, passing a rocky tor along the way. The Golden Eagle Gallery is passed, and there are houses and headlands nearby, as well as the Hell Bay Hotel. A large pool also catches the eye, and a path leads between the pool and Stinking Porth in the direction of Gweal Hill. Either follow a rugged coastal path looking across a narrow channel to the little island of Gweal, or climb to the top of Gweal Hill to enjoy more wide-ranging views. The panorama takes in the northern end of Bryher, parts of Tresco, and the Day Mark on St. Martin’s, followed by St. Mary’s and the Garrison Wall, Samson and St. Agnes, Annet, the Bishop Rock Lighthouse and Norrard Rocks.
Follow a path away from Gweal Hill, through marram grass and bracken, around the cove of Popplestone Neck, to rise over the heathery slopes above the rocky coast of Hell Bay. The sea is often uneasy around Hell Bay, and the shape of the bay seems to make the waves pile up, so that they crash into the rocks and send spray spouting skywards. There are attractively rocky headlands ahead that may also be battered by heavy seas. Follow the path onwards, as if aiming for the most northerly point on the island at Shipman Head. However, a rocky point is reached where a deep and rocky channel can be seen to separate Shipman Head from the rest of Bryher. The sheer-walled rocky chasm, known as The Gulf, has a boulder jammed in its throat and cannot be crossed safely by walkers.
Retrace steps then follow paths that drift to the left, continuing over Shipman Head Down. There are lovely views over the channel separating Bryher from Tresco, taking in Cromwell’s Castle above the Tresco shore and King Charles’ Castle on the heathery slopes above. Both these fortifications can be visited by following Walk 9. It is also possible to see the lighthouse on Round Island peeping over Castle Down on Tresco from time to time. Stay high on the heather moorland until overlooking some houses. Descend and keep to the right of the houses to pass through a field on a trodden path. There may be tents pitched, as the field is used as the island camp site.
When a track is reached, most walkers will turn left to reach the Fraggle Rock Café and Bar. However, it is worth turning right up the track, then turning left along narrow paths to reach the top of Watch Hill. The ruins of an old watch-house remain on the hill, alongside a more modern water tank. A splendid panorama from the hill overlooks northern Bryher, northern Tresco, Round Island, St. Helen’s and St. Martin’s. The Great Pool can be seen in the middle of Tresco. St. Mary’s and the Garrison Wall are in view, followed by Gugh, St. Agnes, Samson, southern Bryher, Annet, the Bishop Rock Lighthouse and Norrard Rocks. Retrace steps down the hill and follow the track down to the Fraggle Rock Café & Bar.
Continue walking along the dirt road away from the café and bar, noting the left turn for the Bryher Stores & Post Office if any provisions are needed. The dirt road gives way to a concrete road in places. If your launch is collecting passengers from Anne Quay, then turn off to the left to wait for it, but to return to Church Quay, follow the road uphill past a telephone box and the Vine Café. Walk down to a crossroad and turn left to walk back down past the church to reach Church Quay.
Facilities on Bryher
Facilities on Bryher are concentrated in a band across the middle of the island, rather than on the southern or northern parts of the island. They include the following:
- Toilets are located beside Church Quay. All Saints (Church of England) is above Church Quay. The Vine Café stands inland between Church Quay and Anne Quay. Soleil d’Or provides bed and breakfast accommodation near Anne Quay, and there are a few self-catering cottages and chalets around the island. Bryher Stores & Post Office, as well as the Fraggle Rock Café & Bar and the island campsite, are all found at the end of the road above Anne Quay.
- Bank House offers bed and breakfast accommodation on the western side of Bryher, and the nearby Hell Bay Hotel offers accommodation, food and drink. The Golden Eagle Gallery is also located on the western side of the island.
- Apart from St. Mary’s Boatmen’s Association, ferries to and from Bryher are operated by Bryher Boat Services, tel 01720-422886.
Boat Trip - The Norrard Rocks
The Norrard, or Northward Rocks, lie scattered throughout the sea to the west of Bryher and Samson. They can be viewed easily enough from Gweal Hill on Bryher, where the little island of Gweal is also prominently in view. Landings on Gweal are possible any time of the year, but none of the launches usually land there, so it might require the special hire of a boat. The Norrard Rocks are remarkably spiky in certain profiles and have the appearance of a sunken mountain range, with only the topmost peaks showing.
The Norrard Rocks are closed to visitors during the breeding season, from 15th March to 20th August, but in any case landings aren’t normally made on any of them. The rocks include Mincarlo, Castle Bryher, Illiswilgig, Seal Rock, Maiden Bower, Black Rocks and Scilly Rock. Seals are often seen around the rocks, resting on low ledges, and puffins can be spotted in the early summer well away from disturbance. The occasional tours around the Norrard Rocks include unusual views of Samson and Bryher, and will often include a landing on Bryher or Tresco as a bonus.
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