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Richard Uridge finds himself the westernnmost person in the land when he visits the Isles of Scilly. Part of the Duchy of Cornwall, 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall, the archipelago consists of a number of inhabited islands and a whole range of uninhabited smaller islands and rocks - the number of which varies depending on who's counting, but it's certainly several hundred. The main five islands are St Martin's, Tresco, Bryher, St Agnes and the largest - St Mary's. The Isles are known for their extremely mild climate, frost only occurs every hundred years or so, and sub-tropical plants flourish in public and private gardens. It means that its famous flower industry can flourish: growers can produce spring flowers as early as November. Tourism is now the biggest industry for the islanders and 40 per cent of visitors come back year after year.

Richard begins his visit on a boat, bobbing around Annet, one of the small rocky islands. There may be no people there, but it's inhabited by hundreds of seabirds. Ornithologist and electrician for the five islands, Paul Stancliffe shows Richard the amazing puffins - much smaller than imagined, but birds with a whole range of wonderful habits - they spend the whole winter on the stormy seas of the Atlantic; the barbs on their bills secure their cargo of fish; they starve their chicks to make them leave the burrows deep in the cliffs.