This is the Bant’s Carn Entrance Grave at Halangy Down on St Mary’s. It’s very, very old. So old, in fact, that they really don’t know. Their best estimates are between C25 BC and C5BC – so all it means is they’re pretty sure it’s Stone Age (Neolithic) although it could just about be Bronze Age. Either way, it’s certainly been standing here since the days of Ennor (what Scilly was known as when it was one big island, not many small ones).

There are lots of these on the island although this is certainly the best example we’ve seen. What a feat of engineering for people with no tools to speak of – no lifting gear, nothing to cut granite with. You can climb right inside it if you choose although I must say, even in the knowledge that it’s been there for thousands of years, I didn’t quite like the look of that…..and besides which, I do think that the people who built the tomb for their loved ones, particularly given the extraordinary struggle they must have undergone to actually get it there, deserve that their families rest in peace. Not that their remains are still there – the archaeologists have been in and taken all of the important things to museums and other institutions.

Close by (literally a few yards away) are the remains of an Iron Age village, so much later in historical terms, also on Helangy Down. This too is a really fabulous insight into life over 2000 years ago. I was fascinated to read that the archaeologists believe that the village was abandoned when the farm land (the Iron Age was apparently the first era of farmers rather than hunter/gatherers) surrounding it became over worked and barren – I thought that was a modern problem because of chemicals – not so, they were experiencing such things thousands of years ago too.

Walking here is a complete joy and not just because of the fact that you stumble across ancient stuff like this all over the island but also because the terrain is shockingly beautiful – we truly do find ourselves stopping in complete awe at the view many times every day. It’s so safe too – the almost total lack of cars is a real pleasure and the farming is almost all arable and flower, not livestock so R&A are free to romp without worry.

This tomb may be very, very old but I too feel like an ancient relic today with a monumental cold erupting this morning. I have the shivers, a sinus headache and a face full of snot. I feel lousy but am determined not to let this cold spoil things for us here – it’s too precious to waste.

Last year, I was being chased by swans (not an experience I'm keen to repeat)!