ISLAND LIFE

Emma Henderson found Cornwall's answer to the Caribbean offers an activity-packed holiday without the long-haul flight

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We're setting sail aboard the glamorous, teak-decked 50ft Bermudan cutter Jekamanzi, run by scillyachtcharters.co.uk, in search of the perfect spot to watch the sunset. It may sound like I've jetted off to the Caribbean, but we've actually just left the harbour at Hugh Town, St Mary's. It's the largest of the five inhabited islands - along with Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's and St Agnes - in the Isles of Scilly and 28 miles off the Cornish coast. Part of an archipelago of about 140 islands, its bright blue water, sandy shores, rugged headlands, frolicking dolphins, ruined castles and Bronze Age sites combine with a Mediterranean microclimate to lure travellers in. Most people come for a week, but it's doable as a long weekend or even a day trip from Land's End or Penzance in summer.

The boat sails up the channel between Tresco and Bryher, and it's here where the unique Low Tide Event takes place (find details at tresco.co.uk). In April and September, ultra-low tides reveal the seabed, so you can walk between the islands. For about an hour, there's a tiny festival - a folk band plays, Bryher's Island Fish Cafe cooks up freshly caught lobster, and Tresco's pub, The New Inn, sets up a bar. They're some of the most in-demand dates to stay here.

I was so close to Bryher, but I didn't make it, as the changeable weather disrupted our plans. A shame, as it's the best place to go kayaking: Hut62 (hut62.co.uk), a family-run watersports company, hires out kayaks, dinghies, motorboats and paddleboards, and we had planned to kayak over to an uninhabited island. When the weather is not playing ball, there's Bryher Gallery (bryhergallery.com), with art by locals such as Miles Roderick and Richard Pearce, and works from local potters like Laura Lane, making it peak original souvenir territory.

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