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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

Valhalla Museum

The unique Valhalla collection is situated within Tresco Abbey Garden and contains some 30 figureheads, as well as name boards and other decorative ships’ carvings from the days of sail.

Over the years, many ships and lives have been lost on the rocky coasts of the Scillies and it is from shipwrecks – mostly of merchant vessels – that the collection was built up, starting in about 1840, by Augustus Smith of Tresco Abbey, ‘Lord Proprietor’ of the Islands.

The figureheads in the Valhalla collection represent the final century in a tradition dating back over 3,000 years. From the earliest times ships’ bows have carried carvings of human or animal forms as part of the overall decoration of the vessels. The figures have altered over the centuries. Their pattern, size and shape have adapted to fit new types of ships’ hulls, while their artistic style has changed to reflect contemporary fashions.

At Valhalla, most of the figureheads date from the middle and end of the 19th century and come from merchant sailing vessels or early steamships that were wrecked on the Isles of Scilly. As such the collection is a random cross-section of generally modest vessels, whose small and simple figureheads contrast with larger naval examples surviving elsewhere, such as the figurehead of HMS Ajax in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

You can see the Valhalla collection as part of your visit to Abbey Garden. We have a special Valhalla Challenge for under 11s which involves surviving a shipwreck, finding life-saving plants in the garden and discovering the name of their rescue ship in the museum. Visitors can purchase Trails Packs at the Abbey Garden ticket office.

We recommend a visit to the National Maritime Museum website which is full of fascinating information about British maritime history. We would also like to acknowledge the use of their descriptions for the figureheads on display on Tresco.

Tresco is somewhere else altogether - a completely independent entity with its own unique and precious culture. Not just paradise on earth, it's paradise in Britain.
The Independent

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