NATIONAL MARINE WEEK 2022 23rd July – 7th August 2022 In celebration of last week’s ‘National Marine Week’, we take a look at the magnificent wildlife that inhabits the shores of the Isles of Scilly – a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Whether you are whale spotting on board Scillonian III, snorkelling with…
The inaugural seabird survey has taken place on Scillonian III – the first of its kind in England. Highly-trained seabird surveyors from MARINElife, the charity dedicated to the conservation of marine wildlife, will be conducting monthly surveys from the ship until November. Scillonian III has long been revered by bird watchers for the…
Vital cetacean monitoring surveys by ORCA will be taking place on board Scillonian III once again in 2022. ORCA is the charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK waters. Since 2009 they have had three highly trained marine mammal surveyors conduct 153 surveys from Scillonian. A total of 4,924 individual…
Autumn can be a wonderful time of year to build a love affair with the Isles of Scilly. With migrating birds passing through, Atlantic Grey Seals preparing their pups for winter and the perfect opportunity to wrap up warm and enjoy a wild walk by the coast. The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust is Scilly’s…
If you’re feeling the winter blues, we’ve put together some inspiration and reasons to get excited about the return of spring. For us at Isles of Scilly Travel and on the islands, one sure signal of spring is when Scillonian III returns to service. She returns on the 23rd March and her crew have spent the…
As part of our partnership with the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust we will have a dedicated Marine Ranger (Natalie) travelling aboard Scillonian III at least twice a week. We caught up with Natalie to find out why she’s excited to take on this role and what she hopes to achieve… Tell us a little…
A new partnership has been agreed between the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group and the Isles of Scilly’s nature conservation charity the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust to help better protect the unique environment of the Isles of Scilly. The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust will be working closely with the Steamship Group to help…
Every year visitors return to the Isles of Scilly, something about the pace of life and welcoming community keeps drawing them to return to the islands year after year.
We’ve pulled together a wildlife checklist- how many can you spot during your holiday? Kittiwake: The Kittiwake, sometimes referred to as the true seagull due to the fact they only ever come in land to breed. They nest in colonies on cliff tops and rock ledges from February-August. Manx Shearwater: Manx shearwaters spend most…
1st-4th October: Walk Scilly Weekend & St Martin’s Film Festival. Fly or sail to Scilly for the first weekend in October and feast your eyes on sand, seascapes and… cinema! Combining a weekend’s wandering with evenings snuggled up in front of the silver screen, Walk Scilly Weekend and the St Martin’s Film Festival are back. Top…
All aboard for an autumnal adventure on the Isles of Scilly! As the summer simmers down, there’s still so much for families to see and do on the islands. From spotting baby seal pups and rare migrating birds, to exploring the nature trails and finding fungi growing in the hedgerows – it’s the perfect excuse…
Little explorers can discover the magic of Scilly this October… This half term set sail for a week long break like no other, on a collection of islands unlike anywhere else in Britain. For scrapbooks bursting with magical memories and a show-and-tell story that will captivate a classroom, the Isles of Scilly are an extraordinary…
The summer season might be drawing to a close, but people continue to flock to the Isles of Scilly hoping to catch a glimpse of the islands’ very special visitors: rare migrating birds on their annual journey south for the winter. The Isles of Scilly has become a hotspot for birdwatchers in the autumn months,…
“They’re here! Over here!” the excited passenger shouts. A small pod of dolphins have just started swimming alongside the Scillonian III. Far from a rare occurrence, these majestic creatures regularly join the ship on its journey to and from the Isles of Scilly. The islands, known for their postcard-perfect harbours, gorgeous stone built cottages and…
Our wildlife expert was back on Scillionian last week and on the look-out for some of our most exciting marine wildlife. Paul tells us about his sightings from the Scillionian last week: There was a slight sea swell and a cool breeze today but the sun was shining and the passengers were soaking up the…
John and Carol are volunteers for the Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project and live on the islands; here they explain the wildlife you can see from the Scillonian III. When you travel on the Scillonian it’s great fun to look out for seabirds and dolphins following the boat. Huge and impressive gannets are always…
A bit breezier today after a long calm spell but luckily the forecast looks like it’s settling down again in a day or two. The sightings recently have been very exciting with regular Harbour Porpoises and Common Dolphins being spotted with the odd Risso’s Dolphins. The undoubted highlight were 3 sightings of the huge Leatherback…
The settled weather continues and we are getting good sightings on most trips. Ocean Sunfish, one species that are being spotted more often. Ocean Sunfish are definitely becoming more common. Is this because of the good weather, easier spotting conditions or global warming? Who knows. At the moment several are seen on each trip and…
What amazing weather we are having at the moment. Every day the sun is shining and the sea is perfectly calm. The ship has been full of passengers who have enjoyed sitting on deck, basking in the sun and seeing some good marine wildlife sightings. Small groups of Harbour Porpoise were easy to spot in…
Things have been rather quiet recently with just the odd sighting of a Basking Shark, Harbour Porpoise or an Ocean Sunfish. The sea temperature is still a few degrees down on what we would expect at this time of year and this has slowed down my spotting rate a bit. Yesterday in the bay I…
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