Today's post is more of a scenery one and all the photos will probably benefit if you click to enlarge them. I've marked on the map below with a red blob where our house was approximately on the island of St Mary's. We were just 2 minutes walk away from the footpath to Peninnis Head.
The start of the footpath looks quite unpromising, but it soon opens out onto wonderful scenery.
After a 10 minute walk you end up at the tip of Peninnis Head. The granite rocks here are both imposing and comforting. That may sound strange, but they're imposing in that as you walk amongst them, they tend to loom over you, but also, in less clement weather they can protect you from the worst of the weather coming in off the Atlantic ocean! 
This is a great place for a spot of sea-watching. I didn't get to do as much of that as I would have liked on this trip, but managed to get in an hour or so one morning (there's just so much else to do in a week!).
The early morning light on these magnificent rocks was just stunning. In this photo below you can see the island of St Agnes basking in the morning sunshine.
I'm not sure how many lighthouses there are on the Isles of Scilly, I'm sure Steve from Shooting My Universe would have made it his business to find out! (-: This is the one at the end of Peninnis Head.
It looked to be well maintained and was getting a repaint job done on it while I was there.
I did manage to take a couple of shots of birds while walking on Peninnis. Not anything wildly rare, but they were posing nicely so I couldn't pass up the chance for some shots. This is a Rock Pipit unsurprising on a rock covered in beautifully coloured lichen.
Here is a madly staring Dunnock (Hedge Sparrow) again on some lovely lichen covered rock.
The east side of Peninnis has a gentler feel to it and I found these Agapanthus growing in an old bulb field. This is looking over Old Town Bay towards Porth Hellick and the airport.
There are some fantastic rock formations dusted over with that amazingly creamy green lichen
Here the green lichen is joined by a vibrant saffron coloured variety. I find these coloured particularly attractive.
The west side of Peninnis Head is much more rugged. The Granite outcrops really are stunning.
I would love to experience this area in some really stormy weather. I'll take it in gentle sunlight though! (-:
Finally, I have another rock that reminded me of an animal. This time I thought this looked like a pair of penguins snuggled up together! Yes or no??? (-:
More from Scilly later....
15 comments:
Wow Jenny,
Fabulous photos, just brilliant. Yes you are right they do look like snuggly Penquins.
Wish I was there right now.
Great stuff.
John
Lovely shots of the rocky coastline.
Stunning shoreline shots Jen. Glad to see my old friend the Dunnock getting in on the act.
You just cannnot get enough sea watching in. Thanks for taking us along.
Lots of great stuff! I love that rocky coast and can see why you would want to sit there in the sunlight watching the ocean. Such wonderful rock formations and the view out to other islands...wow. How nice of the common birds to post for you on such nicely uncommon covered rocks. It all looks so gorgeous and exciting, no matter what you see or didn't see. Love the flowers! I can see penguins....certainly an interesting rock shape!
Hi Jenny,
Wow like you said the scenery is wonderful and it is nice you got a very nice weather to enjoy it! Quite cool... Well done on the rock pipit and dunnock pictures, there are really nice!!
Those rocks are so massive - and look like works of art themselves! Very nice shots!
Yeah!! Glad the blog decided to cooperate Jenny! These are great! It must have been difficult to chose between all your great photos! I love the rocks. And that Agapanthus! I'm going to try to grow that here. I see seagulls on the rock with the green lichen. They look like Great Black-backed Gulls. Do you know what they are? Yes they are two penguins for sure! Good eye Jenny Wren!
....Oh....I love this post. I have yet to read the previous post. It will come next. How gorgeous, and what a great getaway for you! I love the rocky coastline. The first thing I thought of before I even read your caption was how much the rock formation looked like a modern sculpture of a pair of penguins! I have so much catching up to do as I was MIA last week while cleaning and organizing my house!
What a wonderful post! So many great things to take in. Yes Jenny it looks like two penguins happy together to me! All the rock formations and the sea, beautiful! I can see where the granite could/would be imposing, it is huge! What a gorgeous place.
Hi John, so do I! I'm so glad I made it there this year!
Hi Frank, thanks. It was a lovely walk along there which I managed to make a couple of times.
Hi Roy, yes, it just sat there for me very patiently! Not many birds do that!
Hi Steve, one of my most fav pastimes.....sea-watching! Hope you like the lighthouse, I have some more in store! (-:
Hi Mary, these islands really are a special place. They have a sense of peace but excitement all at the same time. I wish I'd had more time to stand and stare!
Hi Chris, thanks! We only got one really really bad weather day, so not too bad over a week.
Hi Shelley, yes they were pretty amazing. I'm sure if I'd looked harder I could have found lots more that reminded me of something else! (-:
Hi Evie, yes those were Great Black-backed Gulls on the rock. I love Agapanthus. I hope you can get them over there? The ones in my garden pots will go into the greenhouse for the winter, but you would probably be Ok to have them out all the time where you are I think.
Hi Kelly, I've had lots of catching up to do too with my friends blogs. Those penguins did look like a modern sculture didn't they. I wish I could have brought them back home, but that was never going to happen! (-: PS: It took me a while to figure out what MIA meant, but I got there! (-:
Hi Pix, it is indeed a gorgeous place, I'm so glad I made the trip! Maybe I'll get to go again next autumn, we'll see.
What a great adventure Jenny. The coastline and photos are just wonderful. Yes, I see snuggly penquins as well.
Great pics Jen........brings back so many memories!! One day I hope to get back to the Scillies...
Those rock photos are just as exciting to me as are the bird captures. I love rock formations just as much. I love the feel of this place, Jenny.
Hi Julie, I'm glad you're enjoying these posts, it's been such fun sorting through all the photos and putting posts together...more to come!
Hi Tony,I think you're Scilly adventures started before I was birding, I wish we'd had a chance to bird over there together!
Hi Christine, I think what is so lovely about these islands is that they are so small and close together that almost anywhere you are on any island means that you can generally get some view of the sea and the other islands.
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