Sally on Scilly

Karma St.Martins

Day 2

I awoke to the same sounds that I had drifted off to sleep to, the hypnotic seductive sound of the ocean.  Although the king size bed was incredibly comfortable I couldn’t resist leaping out because outside the breaking dawn promised another stunning day on Scilly.  I did succumb however to a deep warm lingering bath and testing the Molton Brown products thoughtfully provided before ambling down to breakfast.

The staff were bustling about and bade me a cheery good morning.  Although travelling solo the variety of guests at the hotel of all ages made for a refreshing and entertaining distraction. Within less than 24hrs I had left my mobile phone in the room and taken off my watch. (shock horror).  If you had asked me the day of the week I would have struggled to recall.  Today however I would ‘go with the flow’ and I was soon chatting happily to a group of locals as they entertained me with fascinating stories of the islands.  As I sat and listened I was struck at how terribly friendly they all were. I live and work in the tourism sector too and I was impressed by everyone’s enthusiasm. Their love of the island shines through.

Another fellow guest and I decided to dine 'a deux' that evening.  The view from the Karma St.Martins must surely be one of the most romantic and peaceful locations you wistfully dream of, oodles of ocean, palm tree's, exotic plants nestling on lichen covered stone walls, sailing boats bobbing past....  With plans afoot for a total refurbishment headed up by the internationally renowned interior designer Nicky Haslam this is an exciting and challenging time for the hotel.

Just as we were relaxing at the bar though sampling the rosé from St.Martin’s Vineyard and Winery the evening sunset began to put on it’s spectacular slow descent. We looked at each other and rushed out with our camera’s, no explanations, no apologies and no-one to witness our antics (well mine anyway) on the deserted beach as we tried to re-capture the moment. As we returned to the hotel lobby hoping we wouldn’t leave a trail of silvery sand in our wake the receptionist smiled knowingly. ‘Another Scilly sunset’

Just another ‘Scilly sunset’ to end another ‘Scilly day’.

I keep thinking it's suddenly going to stop, I imagine I am in a dream, but I can’t be, it's been a long time since I have felt so awake.