The top 5 beaches to kayak to on the Isles of Scilly

Kayaking on the crystal-clear waters of the Isles of Scilly allows you to experience the natural beauty and wildlife of the islands from a totally different perspective. It gives you the freedom to explore some beautiful, uncrowded, sandy beaches which you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Kayaking from St Martin's, gives easy access to several uninhabited islands. Many of these islands are protected and guidance about where you can land is included in your safety brief.

I'm often asked where's the best place to go to for a kayaking adventure? So, to help you decide, here's my choice of the top 5 beaches to kayak to on the Isles of Scilly.  

Ganilly Sandbar

Ganilly Sandbar is one of my favourite places to kayak to. It’s only a 15-minute paddle from Par Beach, so you could easily visit it with an hour-long kayak hire. There’s absolutely nothing there but sand, the occasional seagull and fantastic views across to Tresco. You feel like you’re on your very own desert island.

What makes it so magical is that it’s only exposed for a couple of hours each day around low water. But, the ephemeral nature of the sandbar just adds to its charm. It’s a favourite place for picnics, proposals and a few years ago a couple actually got married there!

Little Arthur, my favourite of the top 5 beaches to kayak to on the Isles of Scilly

I have to confess that given a choice of which Eastern Isle to visit Little Arthur would be top of the list. The beach here is utterly idyllic with rocky outcrops at either end. It’s a great place for a picnic or an evening BBQ. Watching the sunset over Tresco is just fabulous.

The island is actually made up of three islands, Little, Middle and Great Arthur, which are separated at low tide. It’s just a 25-minute paddle from St Martin’s. As you approach the beach on Little Arthur, gaze down into the water to see beds of seagrass, kelp forests and maybe even a seal.

If you want to explore the rest of the islands there is a rocky causeway between Middle and Great Arthur. It’s great for beach combing but the boulders and rocks can be unsteady so take care walking across it. As with many high points on the islands, there are cist graves and entrance graves on Great Arthur. The top of this island is closed to the public to protect sea birds. The cist grave on Middle Arthur is really unusual being boat shaped – you can only wonder who it was built for and what was their connection to the sea?

Tean

Tean is an uninhabited island that lies to the west of St Martin’s. It’s a longer paddle from Par Beach than the Eastern Isles. It will take between 45 minutes to an hour of paddling, depending on how often you stop to admire the views. Tean is quite a large island and has several beaches on it. My favourite one is the beach on the north side, and is one you can’t paddle directly to. This beach gives you fabulous views of Round Island Lighthouse and the island of St Helen’s. What I love most about this beach is that you can’t see any of the inhabited islands from here, so it feels completely remote.

To get to Tean, paddle along the front of St Martin’s taking in Old Quay and several rocky ledges, whilst heading towards Lower Town.  Then paddle directly across Tean Sound, which can be very tidal. This is a busy stretch of water, especially around low water, so keep a good look out for other boats. You’ll land on a beautiful wide sweeping beach on Tean.

To get to my favourite beach, walk up onto the grassy bank and follow the track across to the other side of the island. As Tean is further away from where we are based, it’s best to allow a three-hour hire to get there and back. But, in my opinion, Tean is such a forgotten gem that it’s well worth taking a whole day to properly explore the island.

Nornour

Nornour is one of the Eastern Isles which lie to the East of St Martin’s. There is a total of eight, but only three are open to the public. It’s a gentle 25-minute paddle from Par Beach and you can often see seals resting up in the water off Nornour. Along with a stunning beach, there are the remains of neolithic and Romano British settlements to explore. The discovery of these in the early 1960’s led to the establishment of a Museum on St Mary’s.

Nornour has a Cornish name ‘Ar Nor' which means ‘facing the mainland’. From the top of the hill there are expansive views not only of Cornwall but also the other islands of Scilly.  There is a rocky outcrop on Nornour, which is exposed at low water. If you look carefully, you can still find the remains of the Earl of Arran.  A paddle steamer that was wrecked here in 1872.   

Old Grimsby, Tresco

If you're looking to spend the day having a kayaking adventure, then my final choice for the top 5 beaches to kayak to on the Isles of Scilly would have to be Old Grimsby. It’s so much more fun to kayak to Tresco from St Martin’s than to get there by tripper boat. It takes an hour to an hour and a half to kayak there. When you land on Tresco, if you need refreshments, you’ll find the wonderful Ruin Beach Café just at the top of this glorious gently sloping beach.  

You can choose to relax and spend the day on the beach. However, there’s lots of places to explore on Tresco, including the world-famous Abbey Gardens, and Cromwell’s Castle.  If you kayak to Tresco when there is a really big spring tide, you could also walk across to Bryher. The channel between the two islands will dry out around the low water.

Kayaking gives you the freedom to explore the Isles of Scilly at your own pace.  Discover stunning beaches on the Eastern Isles, Tean or Tresco.  Take in ancient ruins, breathtaking views and have encounters with wildlife.  If you’re heading out around the low water, be sure to include a visit to the magical Ganilly sandbar.

None of the uninhabited islands have any facilities on them, so it’s best to take water and a snack with you. There’s lots of storage space on the kayaks if you want to take a picnic. We hire 15L waterproof bags for anything you want to take with you that you’d like to keep dry.

I hope you agree with my choice of the top 5 beaches to kayak to on the Isles of Scilly. 

St Martins Watersports hire kayaks, paddleboards and snorkel sets from Par Beach on St Martin’s. The best moments happen at sea!