The
trip across the water from St. Mary's to Samson, whose twin peaks
hike up above the water.
Clambering
off our boat, the Surprise, which runs aground on the beach to let the
entrepid explorers off onto Samson's golden sands at Bar Point, on the
north-east
side of the island...
...then
the boat has to power its way quickly back into deeper water before
the tide recedes further....
...and
slowly the boat disappears! We're officially stranded on the tiny island
of Samson, so time to do some exploring!
Samson's
western shore is facing the wrath of the Atlantic, so little wonder
that
it's simply a pile of boulders. However, with such a diverse array of
rockpools, the
sealife there is simply stunning
Back
on the sands of eastern Samson, small tuffs of sea-grass and other plants
allow butterflies to sit for hours on the beach.
The
view north-east from Samson's bar point, with Tresco in the background.
Samson
at sunset. Its two unmistakeable hills, with north hill on the right,
and south hill on the left. The sandy spit between the hills remains
above sea-level, but only just!
And
finally, a harsh lesson learnt. Samson is thickly vegetated with 6ft
ferns, from shoreline to hill summit. There are marked paths across
the island, but we managed
to accidentally stray from this path on South Hill. We attempted to
climb up over the
hill to get back to where we started, but amongst the 6ft ferns was
a ground layer,
2ft deep of vicious thorns and brambles. Stick to the routes and conserve
the natural environment. Not only are you destroying habitats by venturing
off-path, but you
could also end up leaving half of your leg behind!