Gardens Beneath The Walls

Scilly Isles 2016 - Part Two

 

The Garrison Wall

The sky is leaden grey. Wind whips at our backs and rain lashes our faces as we begin the climb from the capital, Hugh Town, to the entrance of the Garrison, a huge coastal fortification that has defended the Island of St Mary's since 1588. They say that in England you can experience all four seasons in a single day. In the Scilly Isles you can experience all four seasons in a single hour. By the time we've completed the short, steep journey, the wind has dropped considerably in strength. A few minutes ago it felt like walking through a raging gale, now it feels like a fat asthmatic was coughing in our general direction. Entering through the ancient castle gates the weather takes another sudden change. The cloud begins to break and soon streaks of bright blue scar the once solid grey sky.

Wetsuits slung over our shoulders and fins dangling in hand we make our way along the historical garrison wall much to the bemusement of local and tourist alike. No doubt some think we're lost, others that we're mad and maybe some think we're drunk. After all there are no beaches here, no obvious snorkelling or diving spots. The Garrison is surrounded on all sides by jagged rocks and a group of outsiders with fins and masks and cheery grins on their faces have no place here. But despite the raised eyebrows, puzzled looks and suggestions that “If you are looking for seals you're are on the wrong island”, we trudge on.

We've been here before you see, scouted the terrain so to speak and we're not here to snorkel with seals or wrasses or even jellyfish. We're here for something few even realise exists between the foreboding rocks beneath the garrison walls. We're here to snorkel through the Anemone gardens of the Doctor's Keys.

Dropping down from the wall, we pick our way through the heavy vegetation, past world war two machine gun emplacements and finally down onto the rocks of Doctor's keys. Here we kit up and selecting our entrance and exit spots we plunge into the icy water. 

 

Doctor's Keys

Perspective makes you look taller.....

Few snorkellers pay much attention to such marine life as anemones, fixated as they are with simply fish watching and that's a shame because if you pause a while around rocks and crevices, a whole new world opens up before you. Every inch of rock face, every nook and cranny around here is filled with green and red anemones, their tentacles gently waving in the currents. There are starfish here too, along with prawns and muscles. Tiny crabs peer out at us from dark crevices, predatory dog whelks stalk across the rocky terrain and silvery shoals of fish fry huddle nervously together beneath overhangs and who could blame them. At first glance, this miniature world may seem innocuous, but in reality it is a violent, vicious Eden. Every living thing down here, no matter how small, is on the hunt and the unwary do not last long.

Dominating this deadly world is the beadlet anemone. The beadlet is one of the most common anemones found in British waters and can be red, green or sometimes orange. They normally grow to around 5 cm long but don't let their tiny stature fool you. These brightly coloured blobs of jelly are an underwater arsenal of chemical weapons. Their tentacles and body bristle with stinging nematocysts, which though harmless to humans, are lethal to the other tiny inhabitants. Below the tentacles are a ring of small blue beads known as acrorhagi. These beads are packed with stinging cells and are used to fight off any other anemone that encroaches on the owners territory. The beadlet anemone is one of the most aggressive anemones and is highly territorial. If their tentacles come into contact with any neighbouring individuals which aren’t related (no, we don't know how they tell either) they become extremely hostile. Over the course of a few days, the victim will be slowly nudged and stung with the stinging cells in the acrorhagi until they either crawl away or drop off the rocks. And yes they can crawl. The base of the anemones body is shaped like a sucker that it uses to cling to the rocks but if the need arises, they can slowly slide across the rock. 

 

Anemones are fascinating creatures. Some have been known to live for as long as 60-80 years and because they are able to clone themselves they do not age and therefore have the “potential” to live indefinitely in the absence of predators or disease. A recent scientific study even found that certain anemones are able to secrete repair proteins when they are damaged. Scientists have found that this ability to quickly repair themselves may be able to help in the treatment of hearing loss.

We spent hours in the water, watching the comings and goings of this tiny world. It was like rock pooling when you're a child. Although the rocks were a darn sight bigger and so was the pool. So the next time you get bored with simply fish watching, do yourself a favour and snorkel over to the rocky shore, You may be surprised at what you find.