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Places to stay in Bryher
Bryher (Cornish: Breyer, place of hills) is the smallest of the five
inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly with a length of 2 kilometres
(1.2 mi), a maximum width of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) and an area of 134
hectares (330 acres), including Shipman Head, which rises to 42 metres
(138 ft) at the northern end of the island.
Bryher lies to the west of Tresco, and is separated from that island by
the Tresco Channel, once the main anchorage for the islands and now an
area where sandflats are exposed at low tide. Off the southern end of
Bryher is the uninhabited island of Samson.
It is possible to walk between the three islands at the lowest spring
tides. The centre of Bryher is mainly low lying with arable fields, pasture
and housing and is where most of the population of 83 lives. On the west
side is the brackish Great Pool overlooked by the Hell Bay Hotel and in
the south are sandy beaches, a common feature on the island, Rushy Bay
being an example.
The island lies within the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast, is part of
the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and untennanted
land is leased by the Duchy of Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly Wildlife
Trust which is using ponies and red ruby cattle to graze the overgrown
areas as part of the Waves of Heath project. The name of the island is
recorded as Brayer in 1336 and Brear in 1500.
