All of the islands are fabulous, we’re rapidly discovering. Although there are things that link them all together (and I don’t just mean the launches), they are all quite different in character close-up.

Tresco is the most ‘genteel’ of them all, not least because it’s even more stuck in a time warp and being there feels like being an extra in an episode of ‘The Prisoner’. The reason for this is that one family effectively owns the whole island – they lease it on a long-term lease from the Duchy of Cornwall, who once owned all of the Isles, though the rest are no longer Duchy land. This is shot from Tresco but the lighthouse is on Round Island and behind Crows Island - you see what I mean about the proximity?

There are little golf buggies trundling round, all painted in the same livery, the ‘staff’ all wear uniforms, the shop is more like a gift shop than a provisions store etc etc. We didn’t get as far as the pub, though we’d fully have expected to be served by androids or robots if we’d got there. (I hope the landlord who is, I’m sure, charming in the extreme, isn’t offended by this joke.)

However, despite this, the island is really rather gorgeous and some of Scilly’s best beaches are here.

I reckon we must be the only people on the planet who’ve been to Tresco but have NOT been inside the Abbey Gardens – we went to the island, bought a picnic in the shop, walked across the central belt then around the coast to the quay for the return – didn’t see more than about a dozen people until we were waiting for the launch to arrive.

Tonight we’ve sampled our first gig race – but more of that on Friday! Suffice to say it all looked pretty hard work and strenuous. We, though, had the vantage point of a bench in front of Star castle – a 16th century castle, built by Elizabeth I as part of her defence against the Spaniards – now it’s a swanky hotel. The view from there is unparalleled we thought so we bagsied a seat and waited and were rewarded with the best seats in the house!

I posted a really tender shot last year - one of my faves!