The Eastern Isles () are a group of 12 small uninhabited islands within the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

, part of the Scilly

Heritage Coast A heritage coast is a strip of coastline in England and Wales, the extent of which is defined by agreement between the relevant statutory national agency and the relevant local authority. Such areas are recognised for their natural beauty, wildlife ...

and a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) first designated in 1971 for its flora and fauna. They have a long period of occupation from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

with

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

s and entrance graves through to

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

field systems and a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

shrine on Nornour. Before the 19th century, the islands were known by their Cornish name, which had also become the name of the largest island in the group after the submergence of the connecting lands.

Weatherhill, Craig Craig Weatherhill (1950 or 1951 – 18 or 19 July 2020) was a Cornish antiquarian, novelist and writer on the history, archaeology, place names and mythology of Cornwall. Weatherhill attended school in Falmouth, where his parents ran a sports ...

, ''Place Names in Cornwall and Scilly'', Wessex Books, 2005 All of the land designated as Eastern Isles Site of Special Scientific Interest is owned by the

Duchy of Cornwall A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...

Geography

The islands are located to the south-east of St Martin's and are within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Scilly Heritage Coast. The Isles are not so exposed to gales as the Western Rocks; consequently, the soils do not receive so much

salt spray Sea spray consists of aerosol particles formed from the ocean, primarily by ejection into Earth's atmosphere through bursting bubbles at the air-sea interface Sea spray contains both organic matter and inorganic salts that form sea salt aerosol ...

, and remnant habitats such as coastal

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

and maritime

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

have survived the inundation of the sea. If the practice of summer

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

had continued, there would be even more grassland instead of the dense

bramble ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. I ...

that has smothered some of the small growing plants. The islands by area are: * Great Ganilly *Great, Middle, and Little Arthur *Menawethan *Little Ganilly *Great Innisvouls *Great Ganinick *Nornour *Little Ganinick *Little Innisvouls *Ragged Island *Guther's *Hanjague

Geology

The underlying rock is coarse-grained

Hercynian Hercynia is a name for the ancient Hercynian Forest. Hercynia or Hercynian may also refer to: *458 Hercynia, an asteroid *Hercynian orogeny, a synonym for the Variscan orogeny The Variscan orogeny, or Hercynian orogeny, was a geologic mountai ...

granite topped by wind-blown sand. Some of the islands are linked with boulder ridges and sandy bars; at low tide, they can appear to be one island. During the

occupation of England and Wales, the area was a low-lying

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

between St Mary's and St Martins and the present Eastern Isles small hills. The Isles of Scilly are a

Geological Conservation Review The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee. It is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological ...

(GCR) site for the largest assemblage of

tied island A tied island or land-tied island is a landform consisting of an island that is connected to the mainland or another island only by a tombolo, which is a spit of beach materials connected to land at both ends. St Ninian's Isle in the Shetlan ...

s outside of

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

and

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

. Four islands represent the different stages in the linkage of islands by a sandy bar or tombola:

Teän Teän ( , sometimes written ''Tean'' without the Diaeresis (diacritic), diaeresis; ) is an uninhabited island to the north of the Isles of Scilly archipelago between Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Tresco, to the west, and St Martin's, Isles of Scilly ...

(not part of the Eastern Isles) to the north-west, between St Martin's and Tresco; and Great Arthur, Great Ganinick, and Little Ganinick to the south-east of St Martin's.

Wildlife and ecology

Most of the islands have dense cover of bramble (''

Rubus fruticosus ''Rubus fruticosus'' L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus ''Rubus'' (part of the rose family). The name has been interpreted in several ways: *The species represented by the type specimen of ''Rubus fruticosu ...

'') and bracken (''

Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'', commonly called bracken, brake, pasture brake, common bracken, and also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North ...

'') as well as grassland along the coastal fringes. Goldenrod (''

Solidago virgaurea ''Solidago virgaurea'', the European goldenrod or woundwort, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across most of Europe as well as North Africa and northern, central, and southwestern Asia (China, Russia, ...

'') is locally abundant amongst the heath communities growing on the

podzolic Podzols, also known as podosols, spodosols, or espodossolos, are the typical soils of coniferous or Taiga, boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on he ...

soils on the higher parts of the islands. The heaths are classified as a poor fit somewhere between H10 and H11; the heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

''), bell heather (''

Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. Description It is a low, spreading shrub growing to tall, with fine needle-like leaves long arranged in ...

''), and bracken merge into pure bracken on the lower slopes. A feasibility study is needed to decide if the vegetation would benefit from grazing through a Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement. Because no

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

resides on the Isles, and recording plant species on remote islands is difficult, there have been few botanical surveys. The number of species for each of the Eastern Isles was finally published in 1971, based on surveys carried out by J.D. Grose, Mr & Mrs J.E. Dallas, and J.E. Lousley in 1938 and 1939. Lousley listed 111 species of

higher plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified tissue ( ...

in his 1971 ''Flora'', and by 1999 further surveys recorded a similar number (114). Some of the islands have species found only on the island in question and not on the other Eastern Isles, such as an

oak tree An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the Fagaceae, beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northe ...

found by Mr and Mrs Dallas on Great Gannick. Possible

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...

indicators Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health ...

such as butcher's-broom (''

Ruscus aculeatus ''Ruscus aculeatus'', known as butcher's-broom, is a low evergreen dioecious Eurasian shrub, with flat shoots known as cladodes that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped leaves. Small greenish flowers appear in spring, and are borne sing ...

''), wood spurge (''

Euphorbia amygdaloides ''Euphorbia amygdaloides'', the wood spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to woodland locations in Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is a bushy evergreen perennial, growing to a height of , with dark green ...

''), and wood small-reed (''

Calamagrostis epigejos ''Calamagrostis epigejos'', common names wood small-reed or bushgrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae which is native to Eurasia and Africa. It is found from average moisture locales to salt marsh and wet habitats.

'') have also been recorded on Great Gannick. The nationally rare orange bird's-foot ('' Ornithopus pinnatus'') is found on the northern side of Great Ganilly. The Eastern Isles are one of three main

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

(''Halichoerus grypus'') pupping areas, the Western Rocks and Norrard Rocks being the others. Four other mammals have been recorded:

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

brown rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest Muroidea, muroids, it is a brown or grey ...

(described as a plague on some of the Eastern Isles,)

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the rodent family Muridae, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. A ...

, and the so-called Scilly shrew. The isles are also home to breeding colonies of eight species of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

, including three species of

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

, as well as the

common shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...

(''Phalacrocorax aristotelis''),

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and ...

(''Phalacrocorax carbo''),

northern fulmar The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is an abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemisphere, ...

(''Fulmarus glacialis''),

razorbill The razorbill (''Alca torda'') is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus ''Alca (bird), Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinus impennis' ...

(''Alca torda''), and

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

(''Fratercula arctica''). Several of the isles are closed to visitors during the birds' breeding season (15 April to 20 August).

The islands

Great Ganilly

Great Ganilly () (), is the largest of the Eastern Isles and consists of two hills joined by a low sandy neck. The hill further to the north has the highest point at and a ruined Bronze Age entrance grave on the summit. Stones from the chamber have been used to make a pyramidal navigational marker. Other evidence of past occupation include a

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

on the neck as well as the remains of field systems. A freshwater

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

would have made living possible on the island during the

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

burning season. The hills have maritime heath on each summit and dense bracken communities on the lower slopes. The surveys of 1938 and 1939 recorded a total of 74 plant species, the largest number on any of the Eastern Isles, including Portland spurge (''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae. Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being ''Eu ...

portlandica''), sea spurge (''

Euphorbia paralias ''Euphorbia paralias'', the Sea Spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. The species is widely naturalised in Australia. It invades coastal areas, displacing local ...

''), sea-kale ('' Crambe maritima''), and balm-leaved figwort ('' Scrophularia scorodonia'') in the small sand dune system. Common thyme (''

Thymus vulgaris ''Thymus vulgaris'' (common thyme, German thyme, garden thyme or just thyme) is a species of flowering plant in the mint family (biology), family Lamiaceae, native plant, native to southern Europe from the western Mediterranean to southern Ital ...

'') and orange bird's-foot grow on the heath, which is dominated by bell heather. Betony (''

Stachys officinalis ''Betonica officinalis'', common name betony is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Other vernacular names include wood betony, common hedgenettle, purple betony, bishopw ...

''), a common plant in Cornwall but known to be in only two places in Scilly, was discovered simultaneously here and on Tresco in 1998 but was not seen in 2000. Mammals recorded are the rabbit, brown rat, house mouse, and Scilly shrew.

Great, Middle, and Little Arthur

The Arthurs (), part of the Geological Conservation Review site (GCR), are three rocky islands joined by two beaches forming a crescent around Arthur Porth; compare with Great Ganinick and Little Ganinick (see below) where the process is ongoing. Great Arthur (), as the name suggests, is the largest; it has a fringe of maritime grassland, dune vegetation, and strandline vegetation. There are three entrance graves on the summit ridge connected by a prehistoric boulder wall and surrounded by maritime heath with English stonecrop ('' Sedum anglicum'') on the bare areas. The area of blown sand is dominated by marram grass (''

Ammophila arenaria ''Ammophila arenaria'' is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is known by the common names marram grass and European beachgrass. It is one of two species of the genus '' Ammophila''. It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Afr ...

''), which helps stabilise the dunes and shelter a relatively rich flora of non-maritime plants such as stunted grey sallow (''

Salix cinerea ''Salix cinerea'' (common sallow, grey sallow, grey willow, grey-leaved sallow, large grey willow, pussy willow, rusty sallow) is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain ...

''). This (probably the same) plant is recorded in both Louseley (1971) and Parslow (1997). Middle Arthur () has an unusual boat-shaped entrance grave on the summit with walls of standing slabs. A ceramic burial

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

together with pieces of

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

and

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

were found during excavations in 1953. The island has a few patches of heather and some strandline vegetation in the sheltered areas of its shore; Little Arthur () has bracken on the deeper soils, heath on the summit, and English stonecrop in the bare areas. Also on Little Arthur is a small area of strandline vegetation and sand dunes with slender St John's-wort ('' Hypericum pulchrum''), a plant common in Cornwall but uncommon in the Isles of Scilly.

Menawethan

Menawethan () () is a steep-sided island to the south-east of the group with vegetation that is typical of islands with breeding seabirds. It was one of the first islands where

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

carried out rat eradication. Some areas are covered in hottentot fig (''

Carpobrotus edulis ''Carpobrotus edulis'' is a creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus '' Carpobrotus'', native to South Africa. Its common names include hottentot-fig, sour fig, ice plant, highway ice plant, or vygie. Description ''Carpobrotus eduli ...

''; probably carried to the island by gulls); thrift (''

Armeria ''Armeria'' is a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "lady's cushion", "thrift", or "sea pink" (the latter because as they are often found on coastlines). The genus counts over a hundred species, mostly native to the ...

'') and sea campion (''

Silene uniflora ''Silene uniflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the carnation family known by the common name sea campion. Description ''Silene uniflora'' is a perennial plant that forms a mat with stems growing outwards to as much as 30 cm. The ste ...

'') also dominate in some areas. Other species recorded include Yorkshire fog (''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In Nor ...

''), orache (''

Atriplex ''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and ...

''), common scurvy-grass (''

Cochlearia officinalis ''Cochlearia officinalis'', common scurvygrass, scurvy-grass, or spoonwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. The plant acquired its common name from the observation that it cured scurvy. Description ''Cochlearia offic ...

''), and tree-mallow ('' Malva assurgentiflora''), which forms temporary stands in some years. Brookweed ('' Samolus valerandi''), a plant restricted to cliff flushes in Cornwall and an unusual plant in Scilly, grows among rocks above the shore. The rocky shore is used by grey seals for haul-outs. A Bronze Age cairn stands on the summit. The island is recorded as ''Mynangwython'' c. 1588. A freight ship for the

Isles of Scilly Steamship Company The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC) operates the principal shipping service from Penzance, in Cornwall, to the Isles of Scilly, located to the southwest. It provides a year-round cargo service together with a seasonal passenger serv ...

, due to come into service in 2026, will be named after the island.

Little Ganilly

Little Ganilly () () is just to the north of Little Arthur and has a small area of heath on the summit. Bracken dominates the slopes, and there are maritime grassland and cliff communities along the coast, which has several small caves on the east side. Surveys in 1938 and 1939 recorded 37 species of plants. The only mammals recorded are brown rats and grey seals, the latter of which use the island for haul-outs.

Great Innisvouls and Little Innisvouls

Great Innisvouls (, ''great wether island'') (), has a small area of maritime grassland and bracken, and Little Innisvouls (, ''little wether island'') () has strandline plant species. Both have breeding seabirds, and the Scilly shrew has been recorded on Great Innisvouls. Gurney reported 12 pairs of

European shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, ma ...

(''Gulosus aristotelis'') with egg and one pair with young on Great Innisvouls on 12 May 1887. To the north-east of Little Innisvouls is a small rock called Mouls () (), where a nationally scarce

pseudoscorpion Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are small, scorpion-like arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida. Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans bec ...

(''

Neobisium maritimum ''Neobisium maritimum'' is a species of pseudoscorpion in the Neobisiidae family. Description The species are long. It has two pairs of eyes that are positioned at the front of the cephalothorax. The colour of it is black, with orange-red cl ...

'') was found in 1927.

Great Ganinick and Little Ganinick

The islands of Great Ganinick and Little Ganinick (, ''place of

wild garlic Plant species in the genus ''Allium ''Allium'' is a large genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants with around 1000 accepted species, making ''Allium'' the largest genus in the family Amaryllidaceae and among the largest plant genera in the wo ...

'') (), are part of the GCR and are in an early stage of the linkage of two islands by a tombola. The sand bar is building northwards from Little Ganinick towards the larger island, although the sand supply does not appear to be sufficient to link the two islands. On the north side of Great Ganinick, a cuspate-shaped beach is forming. Great Ganinick has the only known oak tree in the Eastern Islands. Described by Mr and Mrs Dallas in 1938 as ".... about 2 ft 6in (0.76 m) tall in tangle of bracken, bramble, and

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

" (''Lonicera''), the tree (or possibly one like it) was still there in 1997. Great Ganinick is rich in plant species; Lousley recorded 74 species, including butcher's-broom, wood spurge, wood small-reed (''

''), and white ramping fumitory ('' Fumaria capreolata''). Little Ganinick has grassland with strandline vegetation and seabird colonies.

Nornour

Nornour (, ''facing the mainland'') (), consists of one hill covered in bracken to the north of Great Ganilly and joined to it at low tide by a boulder

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

. There was a long period of habitation during the Bronze and Iron Ages, when Nornour would have been part of a larger island. After a storm in 1962, the

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

of sand dunes uncovered hut circles, leading to the discovery of 11 circular stone buildings. Excavations of the site in 1962–66 and 1969–73 turned up such features as doorways, dividing walls, steps, hearths,

querns A quern-stone is a stone tool for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials, especially for various types of grains. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a ''saddle quern'', while the upper mobile st ...

, and stone-lined pits. Two of the buildings have since disappeared under beach boulders. Among the numerous Roman finds found in the two westernmost huts were more than 300

brooches A brooch (, ) is a decorative jewellery item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gem ...

, dating from the later first to the later 3rd century AD. They were found in the upper layers of two of the prehistoric buildings, along with coins (late 1st to late 4th century), glass, miniature pots, and pieces of small

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

Gallic figurines. The earliest coins are from

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

(AD 69–79); the later-dated ones show that the site remained in use into the late 4th century. Analysis of the brooches indicate they came from numerous places in Britain and

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

. The lack of comparable sites on Scilly suggests that these finds were not items of trade but perhaps

votive offerings A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

to a local

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, indicating that the site was a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

Sulis In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath. She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tablets suggest that she ...

has been suggested as its

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

. With dates ranging over four centuries, it is unlikely that the objects came from a shipwreck. Despite attempts to protect the archaeological site, sea erosion still occurs. The boilers of the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

'' Earl of Arran'' can be seen at

low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

on the western shore. She hit Irishman's Ledge () on 16 July 1872, when the Captain attempted to take a short cut through English Island Neck. There is a small area of heath on the hill with heather and bell heather and in the disturbed area around the hut circles. The nationally scarce plants Portland spurge and balm-leaved figwort have been recorded on Nornour, as have butcher's-broom, sea spurge, and sea spleenwort (''

Asplenium marinum ''Asplenium marinum'' is a fern known as the sea spleenwort because of its preference for maritime habitats. Located around the coasts of Europe from Italy in the South to Norway in the North, its most Southern distribution extends to the Norther ...

''). An endangered shore dock (''

Rumex rupestris The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial, and perennial plant, perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennia ...

'') colony was recorded by Lousley but has not been seen since 1970.

Ragged Island

Ragged Island () has two unexpected plants: Chilean hard-fern ('' Blechnum cordatum'') and borage (''

Borago officinalis Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts ar ...

'').. Neither species was recorded by Lousley in his 1971 Flora. While how they got there is not known, spores from ferns can be blown some distance; Chilean hard-fern was recorded in Higher Town, St Martin's in 1936. Other species recorded include thrift, scurvy grass, hastate orache, and

sea beet The sea beet, ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'' (L.) Arcangeli., is an Old World perennial plant with edible leaves, leading to the common name wild spinach. Description Sea beet is an erect and sprawling perennial plant up to high with da ...

Guther's

Guther's (or Gunther's) () (), is a small island that lies on the western side of the Eastern Isles and south of St Martin's. It has limited vegetation consisting of grass, docks, and sea beet. Greater black-backed (''

Larus marinus The great black-backed gull (''Larus marinus'') is the largest member of the gull family. It is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger which breeds on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic in northern Europe and northeastern Nort ...

'') and herring ('' Larus argentatus'') gulls nest there, as do common shags. One can walk out to this island from St Martin's at exceptional low tides, but great care must be taken not to be cut off.

Hanjague

Hanjague () () is a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

approximately 1 km north-east of Great Gannilly and is the easternmost island in the archipelago. The island has no vegetation and is used as a roost by birds.

English Island

The rock is between English Island point, St Martin's to the north, and Nornour to the south-east ().

References

External links

SSSI map

Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project: Frequently asked questions

Geological Conservation Review site

Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust
{{SSSIs Cornwall biological Uninhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Isles of Scilly Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1971