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We can help you book your perfect break to Tresco. We all live here, so it's our specialist subject!

Call us on +44 (0)1720 422 849 or email us.

By Helicopter - Direct to Tresco

By Helicopter - Direct to Tresco

Fly direct to Tresco with Penzance Helicopters - making the flight to the Isles of Scilly as memorable as the destination

Before you Arrive

Before you Arrive

Our pre-arrival checklist - from letting us know your travel plans to ordering your wine and groceries

Tresco Islandshare

Tresco Islandshare

Own a piece of this unique island, with 40 years of holidays on Tresco as more than just a visitor. Discover Islandshares for sale...

Tresco Offers & Breaks

Tresco Offers & Breaks

From seasonal escapes to wellness and creative breaks and last-minute offers, discover our latest offers & breaks on Tresco Island

Eating

Eating

From beachfront dining to our cosy inn, get a taste for island-inspired dining with a Tresco twist

Grocery

Grocery

Place a pre-arrival grocery order and we'll deliver to your accommodation on your arrival

Events & Experiences

Events & Experiences

From the Low Tide Event to live music, Abbey Garden Theatre and more, discover extraordinary events on the Isles of Scilly

Day Trips to Tresco

Day Trips to Tresco

Whether you're coming from elsewhere on Scilly, or further afield in Devon or Cornwall, a day trip to Tresco is the perfect day out

The Tresco Art Collection

'Path To the Eastern Isles ' by Winifred Nicholson (1893-1981)1953. Oil on canvas.

Lucy Dorrien- Smith shows us around some of her favourite paintings in the Tresco Art Collection, sharing some facts about the artist, the work and why the piece became part of the collection.

This painting was bought for me by my husband Robert in 2001. We both love her soft, gentle landscapes. It was painted from the window in the Tower at Tresco Abbey, when she was staying with Robert's aunts in 1953. Another painting entitled 'White Fog, Isles of Scilly' was made during the same visit.
Winifred Nicholson was born in Oxford in 1893. She was encouraged to paint as a child by her grandfather, the artist George Howard. In 1912 she began her formal studies at the Byam Shaw School of Art.
In 1920 Winifred met the painter Ben Nicholson. They married within the year and worked alongside each other in Italy, France, Devon and Cornwall and spent their winters at a villa among vines on the mountainside above Lake Lugano in the Italian-Swiss Alps.
In Paris Winifred and Ben were able to see works by Derain, Van Gough, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso. They particularly admired the primitivism of Gauguin and Rousseau.
In 1923 Winifred and Ben exhibited alongside each other (the first of many joint exhibitions) at Paterson gallery in London. The following year they acquired an old farmhouse, Bankshead, in Cumberland. The home became a source of huge inspiration for Winifred and remained so for many years. Artists such as Paul Nash, Ivon Hitchens and Christopher Wood visited the Nicholsons at Bankshead and shared Winifred's love of the farmhouse and surrounding countryside.
Winifred joined the ' 7& 5' Society in 1925 and exhibited there for a decade .In 1927 she was seriously injured when she fell through a trapdoor while hanging an exhibition at Beaux Arts. Thankfully she made a full recovery and was given her first solo exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in 1930.
After separating from Ben Nicholson (who had met the artist Barbara Hepworth) Winifred moved with the three children to Paris in 1932. In Paris Winifred met many artists including Naum Gabo, Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian. By 1938, with war looming Winifred returned to Britain (she also persuaded Piet Mondrian to travel with her to escape the threat of fascism).
Winifred was a keen traveller, together with the poet Kathleen Raine, Winifred visited the Hebrides and Western Scotland on a number of occasions during the early 1950's and in 1953 she exhibited works from these trips at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh. She also visited Scilly, Orkney and Catalonia in the 1950's and made numerous trips to Greece in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1969 a retrospective exhibition was held at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal. Shortly afterwards, 12 of her pictures were shown in the Helen Sutherland Collection, a touring exhibition which opened at the Hayward Gallery. In 1972 she was given a solo exhibition at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge. In 1979 she was given a retrospective exhibition, organised by the Scottish Arts Council, which travelled from Glasgow to Edinburgh, Carlisle, Newcastle and Cornwall.
Winifred died at Bankshead in 1981.
(extract from a biography about Winifred Nicholson - The Portland Gallery)

Stay on Tresco

Winter and Festive breaks are not always available to book online - for cottage stays or New Inn breaks over the winter months please go to Winter on Tresco or call 01720 422849.

Or call +44 (0)1720 422 849