Shipwrecks on Scilly

Beneath the clear waters of the Isles of Scilly lurk treacherous rocks on which more than 1,000 ships have foundered. CLARE HARGREAVES discovers their stories

- CLARE HARGREAVES

Fringed by turquoise seas and silversand beaches, to visitors the Scilly archipelago looks like a Caribbean paradise. As the south-westernmost outposts of England, they've always been important strategically and as a staging post for military and merchant ships. But look out to sea and you'll clock Scilly's dark underside - treacherous rocks with savage names like Hell Bay, Crebinicks and Hellweathers, which have wrecked more than 1,000 vessels.

Until the late 18th century, the carnage on Scilly's rocks was compounded by our inability to calculate longitude, plus inaccurate navigational charts and instruments. The only lighthouse on St Agnes, Scilly's most south-westerly inhabited island - was on land, so effectively lured ships onto its surrounding rocks. In bad weather its light, mainly coal-fired, was invisible beyond three miles.