Читать книгу The Isles of Scilly - Rosemary Parslow - Страница 52

We’ll rant and roar, across the salt seas

Soon we’ll strike soundings in the Channel of Old England

From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-four leagues.

Spanish Ladies, traditional sea-shanty

IN ADDITION TO St Mary’s there are four inhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly. These are called the ‘off-islands’ by Scillonians. Three were formerly joined to St Mary’s when Scilly was mainly one large island many centuries ago (see Chapter 2). St Agnes has been separated from the rest far longer by a deep channel, St Mary’s Sound, and as a result always seems to have a different ‘feel’ and some differences in the flora that may reflect this longer isolation. None of the off-islands has a large population. The majority of the inhabitants are farmers with some involvement with the sea, boats or fishing, and most rely to some extent on tourism.