Garrison Walls

Visitor Guide

The Garrison Walls are reached by climbing the steep, winding streets that lead up from the centre of Hugh Town onto the headland known as The Hugh, a walk that is straightforward on foot or by bicycle but not suited to those with limited mobility. Once on the headland, a well-defined path follows the ramparts around almost the full circuit of the coastline, with information panels at intervals explaining the different phases of construction encountered along the way.

Highlights along the route include the Sallyport, a fortified gateway once used for launching surprise raids, and the Powder House, a small magazine building now open as an exhibition space daily from 8am to 4:30pm. Star Castle itself, now a hotel, remains visible at the heart of the fortifications, its distinctive eight-pointed star plan still clearly recognisable from the walls around it.

A full circuit of the Garrison Walls takes around two hours at an easy pace, considerably rewarding for the effort involved thanks to near-constant views out across St Mary's Sound to the other islands of the archipelago. Hugh Town, immediately below, offers the island's main concentration of shops, cafes, pubs and the Isles of Scilly Museum, making it easy to combine a walk of the walls with a relaxed exploration of the town itself.

History

The defences that make up the Garrison Walls developed in response to a very real and repeated threat to the Isles of Scilly's strategic position at the entrance to the English Channel. The earliest substantial fortification came in the Elizabethan period, prompted directly by the failure of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and continuing fears that Spain would attempt a second invasion. Sir Francis Godolphin, the Cornish governor responsible for the islands' defence, oversaw construction of Star Castle between 1593 and 1594 on the highest point of the headland, its distinctive eight-pointed plan protected by a curtain wall with four bastions and a fortified entrance guarding the approach from the landward side.

The Garrison was drawn directly into the English Civil War during the 1640s. Royalist forces held the islands for much of the conflict, and the future King Charles II sheltered here briefly in 1646 as his cause faltered on the mainland. Following a parliamentary takeover and a subsequent Royalist uprising, Admiral Robert Blake's fleet finally captured the Garrison in 1651, a victory that brought the islands firmly back under parliamentary control and prompted the construction of Cromwell's Castle on nearby Tresco soon afterwards.

The most ambitious phase of construction came in the 18th century, as renewed invasion fears from France and Spain drove a major programme of expansion. Between 1715 and 1742, the master gunner Abraham Tovey supervised work that extended the curtain wall around most of the headland, adding further bastions and a substantial network of support structures, transforming the Garrison into the extensive fortified perimeter whose walls still largely define the headland today.

The site's defensive role continued well into the modern era. Between 1898 and 1906, Victorian-era batteries, including those known as Woolpack and Steval, were added to counter the threat of increasingly powerful modern naval artillery. Both World Wars saw the Garrison fully reactivated, housing around a thousand servicemen in each conflict, and during the Second World War it served as a critical signal station during the long naval struggle of the Battle of the Atlantic. Today the Garrison Walls are cared for by English Heritage, standing as one of the most complete and continuously developed coastal defence systems anywhere in England, spanning some 350 years of continuous military history within a single, walkable circuit.

Important Features

• Star Castle: the Elizabethan eight-pointed fort of 1593–94 at the heart of the Garrison, now a hotel.
• The Sallyport: a fortified gateway once used for launching surprise raids against attackers.
• The Powder House: a former magazine building, now open daily as a small exhibition space.
• Tovey's 18th-century extension: the major 1715–42 building campaign that extended the walls around most of the headland.
• Woolpack and Steval batteries: Victorian-era gun emplacements added between 1898 and 1906.
• WWII installations: defences reflecting the Garrison's role as a signal station during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Visitor Information

Things to Do Nearby

Frequently Asked Questions

Official English Heritage Site

For the latest access information, events and any temporary restrictions, check the official English Heritage page for the Garrison Walls before you travel.

Visit the official English Heritage website