The Binks Family: Why Tresco Christmas?

We caught up with the Binks family – Tresco Christmas veterans having spent five years running on-island for the festive period. Here mother Kim and daughter Daisy share what makes Tresco Christmas so special.

Kim: We love the cosy, comfortable vibe in the Tresco cottages – they’re well equipped and have everything you’d possibly need to cater the perfect Christmas. They’re also already decorated with lovely trees and garlands – one less thing to think about!

We’ve spent Christmases in a few different Tresco cottages; Abalone, Nautilus and Ocean View. We particularly loved Ocean View because it’s a sociable house with amazing views right onto the beach. This year, we’re spending New Year in Seabreeze, Tresco’s newest cottage, which may become our Christmas go-to in the future.

Daisy: Ocean View is great because it’s so close to the sea – particularly useful for our traditional Christmas swim! I love that it overlooks the Old Blockhouse too – it holds a special place for me as it’s where I got engaged at Christmas in 2017.

Kim: We’ve loved being on Tresco for Christmas because it’s real family time away from the real world – a true and happy escape. The unique thing about Tresco is that despite being in the middle of the ocean, you can organise to have everything you need or want to make your own special Christmas, to fulfil your own family traditions (and we do love our traditions!).

My favourite thing about a Tresco Christmas is the peace, tranquillity and having my favourite people together for this special time of year with no distractions!

Daisy: We love the escape from the world that being on Tresco provides, especially at Christmas. I live and work in London which is busy and hectic (even moreso during the festive period), so once we get on the boat from St. Mary’s across to the island we all breathe a sigh of relief!

The island is magical at all times of the year, but at Christmas it’s even more peaceful. We always seem to have sunshine when we are there too – people find it hard to believe we’re still in the UK!

Kim: We have many festive rituals. We’ve always enjoyed going to church on Christmas Eve which on Tresco is lovely. We’re very particular about our festive menu and have always managed to get everything we want through the wonderful Kate at Tresco Stores, including organic turkey, goose or pheasant, whole smoked salmon sides and fantastic cheese and wine.

Other rituals include a Christmas morning swim in the sea – Santa hatsare mandatory, and I quite happily assume the role of official photographer! We follow this up with a champagne and smoked salmon breakfast, and then a walk around the island to the New Inn to raise a glass with the locals. After that we retreat to the comfort of our cottage, the smell of turkey roasting, and presents.

Daisy: Christmas Eve in the church is wonderful – my husband and I got married here in September so it will be extra special for us this year. Our Christmas Day swim is great fun, and my brother organises a family quiz with a Tresco trivia round before Christmas dinner.

Walking around the island, usually in sunshine, is a must – especially with a drink at the New Inn as a reward!

Kim: Special memories include Daisy and her now-husband Craig getting engaged on Christmas Eve 2017 at Blockhouse Castle. Also walks around the island in glorious sunshine and generally never seeing a soul!

Daisy: Tresco is my favourite place in the world for so many reasons. I have only happy memories of the island – from Christmas, getting engaged and now married, family holidays, beach walks, amazing food, sunshine…I could go on and on! I have quite literally thousands of photos that I have taken over the years, and our London home is now full of them.

The best thing about a Tresco Christmas is getting away from it all with the ones you love most. You can sometimes feel like the only people in the world while on the island, which is such a rare and magical thing these days, but something we treasure as a family, especially at Christmas.

Thank you to Kim and Daisy Binks for sharing their Christmas memories and a selection of family photos for this post.

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