Try the Scillly Isles if you fancy the Fifties!

Mar 22 2008 by Our Correspondent, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE 12-part, real-life TV saga of Father Guy Scott, the new chaplain to the Isles, appears to be bringing the charms of the four inhabited Scilly Isles – St Martin’s, St Agnes, Bryher and Tresco – to a wider audience.

Although visitor numbers peaked in 2002, after the New York terror attacks scared many people off flying, they’ve been falling until the BBC 2 series An Island Parish depicted the place as an idyllic flashback to the best of 1950s Britain.

However, the Scillies have barely 2,000 permanent residents, so there isn’t a great deal of room for many of the 105,000 visitors arriving each year, following in the footsteps of former Huddersfield-born Premier Harold Wilson.

Upmarket tour operator Prestige Holidays, based in Ringwood, Hampshire, is launching its first dedicated brochure to the islands, with summer, 2008, packages. INFORMATION: Prestige Holidays (01425 480 600); Isles of Scilly Tourist Information Centre (01720 424 031 and www.simplyscilly.co.uk).