By: Blonde Two

I realised quickly on arrival for my first Walk Scilly walking festival that the people of the Isles of Scilly were a friendly bunch. What I perhaps didn’t realise until this year’s Walk Scilly wildlife walk around St Agnes with Lydia Titterton was that the birds and animals of Scilly are just as companionable as their human counterparts.

Here is Lydia talking to some Manx shearwaters on her mobile phone… well actually she is playing a recording of Manx shearwater chatter to see if anyone in the burrow will respond (they did).

As if that isn’t enough evidence of friendliness, sometimes the burrowing sea birds are kind enough to share their homes with the rabbits. There are also the rat boxes which have tasty chocolate wax in them to alert the islanders to rats (St Agnes is rat free) the rats (who aren’t there anyway) have been kind enough to allow the Scilly shrews to move in (this must surely be the first example ever in the animal kingdom of buy-to-let).

I guess if all animals were so friendly some of them would also be very hungry… which would never do.

Walk Scilly Weekend – 12 to 16 October
The nights might be drawing in, but autumn’s the perfect time to explore the wilder side of the Isles of Scilly at Walk Scilly Weekend. It’s a chance to experience the islands at their most magical and discover their wild beauty on a long weekend of themed, guided walks with experts who live and breathe Scilly.
To discover more about the Isles of Scilly, go to visitislesofscilly.com. Fly to St. Mary’s with Skybus year round from Newquay and Land’s End Airports, and between March and October from Exeter Airport. Prices start from £140 return from Land’s End Airport. From spring through to late autumn, the Scillonian lll passenger ferry sails up to seven days a week between Penzance and St. Mary’s. Prices start from £90 return. To book your journey, visit islesofscilly-travel.co.uk or phone 01736 334220. Accommodation: Mincarlo, St. Mary’s – mincarlo.info.