Escape to a beautiful British Isle… This year’s summer staycation sorted

ESCAPE TO A BEAUTIFUL British isle

Think you know the UK? These islands should be on your staycation bucket list, so start planning your 2021 holiday with these ideas for getting away from it all without getting on a plane...

BEST FOR... WILDLIFE Lundy, Devon

Cast adrift in protected coral waters in the Bristol Channel, Lundy is a blissful reef of granite

and heathland. They don’t call it ‘Britain’s Galapagos’ for nothing: the wildlife here includes puffins, rabbits, seals, guillemots, deer, feral goats and basking sharks. As England’s first marine nature reserve, it boasts some of the best diving sites in the British isles, with all sorts of shipwrecks and sea creatures to marvel at beneath the clear waters. Fascinating walking routes abound; take all or part of the 12km circular walk around the island’s coast and you’ll stumble across burial chambers, former prisoner caves and the highest lighthouse in Britain, as well as some wonderful flora and fauna, including the incredibly rare Lundy Cabbage plant.

The harbour on Lundy Island

SIMPLE PLEASURES

BEST FOR... FOODIES Mersea, Essex

Across a narrow channel from Essex’s southern coast, Mersea offers a seaswept dose of nature and traditional beach life just a few miles from bustling

Colchester. Here you’ll find Jurassic cliffs, sandy beaches, bleakly beautiful mudflats, pretty pastel beach huts and even a vineyard. You can walk around the whole island, a popular 20km challenge, to admire the views and wildlife: look out for marsh harriers, water voles, red squirrels and numerous migrating seabirds. Britain’s most easterly inhabited island is also a seafood haven: Mersea oysters make their way into the kitchens of everyone from Gordon Ramsay to The Ritz – but they taste best right here, in one of the oyster bars or beach shacks.

HOW TO GET THERE...

By car. Bear in mind that Mersea becomes cut off when the high tide rises above the Strood, the causeway that links the island to the mainland.

Pastel-painted beach huts line the west Mersea shore

Fresh fish and oysters are on the menu

Snaefell Mountain Railway summit station at 2,034ft offers a spectacular view to the Irish Sea

BEST FOR... STEAM TRAINS Isle of Man

Mountainous and cliff-fringed, the Isle of Man has a patchwork of delights including golden beaches, snow-capped peaks, wooded glens, rural villages and steam trains straight out of a

1950s picture book. This selfgoverning island, nestled between Ireland and England, offers rollicking rambles along windswept coastlines and rugged hills: try the summit of 620m- high Snaefell mountain, the island’s highest peak, accessible via the mountain railway. Take a boat trip to the Calf of Man, a tiny islet set amid sensational scenery, half a mile off the southern tip of the island, to see amazing seabird colonies.

HOW TO GET THERE...

Ferries to the capital Douglas depart from Heysham, Liverpool Birkenhead or Belfast.

(LUNDY HARBOUR) JUNE MORRISSEY, (GOATS) SLAWEK STASZCZUK, (BEACH HUTS) RODGER TAMBLYN,

PHOTOGRAPHS

(MENU) CHRISTOPHER MCGOWAN/ALL ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (STEAM TRAIN) GETTY IMAGES, (DOUGLAS) GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

SIMPLE PLEASURES

BEST FOR... BIRD LOVERS Rathlin, Northern Ireland

Around 100 people live alongside a wonderful array of wildlife on Rathlin, Northern Ireland’s only inhabited island.

Sitting just north of Ballycastle on the rugged North Antrim coast, the L-shaped isle is steeped in cultural heritage and awash with seafaring history: a number of shipwrecks here include a World War One cruiser, now a national monument. The island’s terrain combines a dramatic patchwork of idyllic green fields, towering seacliffs and breathtaking coastline for walking. Take the hike from Rathlin harbour to the RSPB Roonivoolin Reserve to enjoy splendid vistas of the coastline and wildlife such as seals, Irish hares and curlews.

HOW TO GET THERE...

Ferries to Rathlin leave from Ballycastle.

BESTFOR... FRANCOPHILES Guernsey, Channel Islands

Charming, vibrant and extremely pretty, Guernsey offers a heady mix of coastal and country vistas.

The island oozes contentedness –and part of its allure is its jumble of influences. It feels a bit French and a lot British, and relics from the German occupation during World War Two add to the quirkiness. Stroll around St Peter Port, where Victor Hugo wrote Les Misérables, and head to the clifftops to admire the landscapes that inspired some of Renoir’s loveliest paintings. HOW TO GET THERE… By ferry from Poole or Portsmouth.

800-year-old Castle Cornet at St Peter Port Historical Tresco Abbey

Church Bay, the island’s main harbour

The renowned subtropical Abbey Garden

BEST FOR... GARDENS Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall

Gloriously isolated and unspoiled, the Isles of Scilly form an archipelago of more than 200 stunning subtropical islands, islets and rocks, 50km off the tip of Cornwall. White sand beaches, tranquil coves and wildflower meadows provide a sanctuary for wildlife and migrating birds, as well as lovers of peace and nature. Tresco, a three-square-kilometre gem, packs a lot between its shores. The rugged north, with its historic forts and spectacular views, is a treat for walkers and explorers, while in the west, the beautiful Abbey Garden threads through exquisite walled enclosures and terraces, displaying 20,000 exotic plants in a horticultural paradise. HOW TO GET THERE... Take the ferry from Penzance.

PHOTOGRAPHS (GUERNSEY) GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO; (RATHLIN) FEATURE KATY HOLLAND GERARD O’CONNOR, (TRESCO ABBEY) ROBERT HARDING, (GARDEN) ALEX RAMSAY/ALL ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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