If Prince William tires of fighting with his errant brother, I can find a balm for the intermittent resentment in the meadows, rocks and beaches I walk along, all of which are now his.
As the current Duchy of Cornwall, it is the new owner of the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands off the coast of Cornwall, sometimes battered by storms but regularly bathed in sunshine.
The Prince and Kate have spent many family holidays here recently. However, they prefer to stay on the island of Tresco, the most cared for and delicate of the five inhabited islands.
The gloriously wild islands of St Agnes and Gugh (pronounced “goo”) are quite different.
It takes 20 minutes by boat from the main island of St Mary’s to reach St Agnes, with its population of around 80 hardy souls, a solitary church and a pub.
Isolated: Rob Crossan explores St Agnes (pictured), which has a population of around 80
Turk’s Head is the only pub on the island and, according to Rob, is “full of photographs of shipwrecks”.
With no cars and paths instead of roads, I wander among what look like remnants of a HE Bates novel: dry stone walls, canary-yellow gorse and hardy clumps of orache and sea holly.
“Be careful on the sandbar,” says Simon, owner of The Turk’s Head, a low-ceilinged, beamed house filled with photographs of shipwrecks. The sandbank is the only route to Gugh, an even smaller island with only two houses. “People think they can go back if they don’t touch the tide, but that current is treacherous.”
Gugh is one of the most remote places in England. Less than a mile long, this is a wilderness of dense ferns, pebble-covered coves and a cheerfully tilted stone from the Neolithic period known as the Old Man of Gugh.
St Agnes is owned by Prince William, the current Duchy of Cornwall, reveals Rob
There are no benches, no containers, no signs. The only signs of life are the occasional rabbit warren and the songs of puffins, Manx shearwaters and gulls.
If there’s anywhere that can calm a stressed royal, it’s here at the westernmost tip of England.
Where to stay: There is nowhere to stay in Gugh and, apart from a campsite and a couple of permanently booked self-catering cabins, nowhere in St Agnes either.
Above, the sandbank separating St Agnes from Gugh, one of the most remote places in England.
Gugh is home to a “gaily leaning stone” from the Neolithic period known as the Old Man of Gugh (pictured)
I returned to Hugh Town in St Mary’s to stay at Hendra Cottage, owned by Tregarthen’s Hotel. It’s a cozy two-bedroom apartment with whitewashed walls, sash windows and the relaxing sound of the tide.
Cabins cost from £555 for a three-night B&B stay (tregarthens.com). The GWR Night Riviera Sleeper train from London Paddington to Penzance has seats from £165 for two each way (gwr.com).
The Scillonian III sails from Penzance to St Mary’s with returns from £35 and takes three hours (islandsofscilly-travel.co.uk). The boat to St Agnes costs £13.50 return (scillyboating.com).
