102 wanderlust.co.uk September 2019
ithasbeenahugesuccessandthere
arenowanumberofbirdsstarting
tobreedsuccessfullyagain,such
asManxshearwatersandstorm
petrels,whichisarealdelight.And
eventheisland’sshrewsseem
tobeincreasinginnumbers.”
Aneyeonthepast
ReachingGugh,wepassedformer
flowerfieldsnowleftwild.Growing
flowersusedtobeakeyindustryhere
butitisnolongerviable.There’sjust
onefarmeronStAgnesstillgrowing
them,Iwastold.Overtheyears
differentindustrieshavebeentried
andsomeweresuccessfulforatime,
butthentimeschange.Thesedays
peoplewilldoabitofthisandabit
ofthattomakeendsmeet.
Gughisonlyabout1kmlong,and
halfthatwide,soweclimbedahillto
itshighestpoint.Itwastoofoggyto
seefar,andtherainstartedtotumble
downagain,butitlentanappropriate
atmosphereaswestoppedby
aNeolithictomb.Afigurehuddled
upinaraincoatemergedfromthefog
andstoppedforachatfromunderher
hood.Irealisedwithastartthatitwas
afamousactress;I’dbeentoldby
aresidentthatmanycelebritiesvisit
theislands,andhe’dnamedafewwho
werecurrentlyvisitingbutstressed:
“Weneverbotherthem.Andthat’s
onereasonwhytheylovetocome
hereandalwayscomeback.”
Christookmetoanotherhilltop
archaeologicalsitehiddenbehind
atangleofbushes,andfromwherewe
hadaviewdowntoStAgnes.Little
isknownyetabouttheseneolithic
sitesbuttheislandshaveahuge
concentrationofthem.TheIslesof
Scillyhavebeenacrossroadsforthe
seawaysofEuropeforever;it’squite
probablethattheislandsofStMary’s,
StMartin’s,TrescoandBryherwere
oneislandifyougoback3,000years,
Iwastold.There’sevidenceofIron
Agepopulationsandothersdating
backfurther,andthesheerdensityofburialmoundsiseasilyamong
thehighestinBritain.
Asthefogstartedtoclearandocean
viewsemerged,itfeltlikeamagical
andisolatedspot.Lifeherewould
havebeenverymuchdefinedbyits
geographicallocationandbythe
changeableweather.Withshallow
watersandhiddenrocks,thiswas
alsoapotentiallydangerousspotfor
ships,andthereareover 530 recorded
shipwrecksaroundtheIsles.
“Thepeopleweren’t‘wreckers’who
encouragedshipstorunaground,”
saidChris.“Iftherewasashipwreck,
thentheywouldgoallouttosave
lives.”Theislanderswouldhavebeen
inatypeofboatthatbecameknown
asa‘gig’,andwhichwentonto
becomeavitalpartoftheeconomy.
“Shipscomingbywouldwantto
pickupalocalpilotwhocouldsafely
guidethemtoBristolorPlymouth.
They’dbepaidhandsomelyforit,so
itwasverycompetitivetogettothe
shipfirstandbepicked.Eachfamily
hadagigtheywouldusetorowout
toasquarerigger;theytookeight
rowersandsevenwouldcomeback
ifthey’dbeensuccessful.”
Today,gigracingasasportisalive
andwellwithweeklyfixtures,and‘The people weren’t ‘wreckers’.
If there was a shipwreck, they
would go all out to save lives’
⊳
Lyn Hughes; http://www.philnicholls.co.uk; Visit Isles of Scilly