The Turks Head

The Turks Head, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly: Quick Take

If you're on St Agnes and want a drink with a view, the outdoor seating at The Turks Head is the reason to come — and it fills up fast on fine days. This is not a venue with a deep reservations system or a complex menu to decode. It is a pub on a quay on one of the smallest inhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, and its appeal is almost entirely tied to where it sits and when you arrive. Get there early on a sunny afternoon and you'll have one of the better outdoor drinking spots in the southwest of England. Arrive too late on a warm summer's day and you'll be standing.

The Outdoor Space

The quayside setting is the central reason to visit. The terrace looks directly out over the water, with views across to the other islands on clear days. That visual — open sea, working harbour, no urban backdrop, is what separates The Turks Head from any pub you could visit on the mainland. The setting does the heavy lifting here. If the weather turns, that advantage disappears, which makes timing your visit the single most important planning decision. Summer weekends and bank holidays bring the most pressure on outdoor space, so a weekday visit in late spring or early September gives you the view without the crowd. See our full St Agnes experiences guide for more on how to plan your time on the island.

What to Expect

The Turks Head is a pub in the traditional sense: locals and visitors share the same space, the atmosphere is informal, and the offer is direct. It is not a cocktail bar and not a destination restaurant. If you've been once and are wondering what to do differently on a second visit, the answer is simple: go at a different time of day. Early evening, as the day boats start heading back, the light and the crowd both shift in a way that makes the terrace feel calmer. Lunch on a weekday is the most relaxed window. There are no booking complications to navigate here, this is a walk-in venue in a location where the journey itself does most of the work.

Getting There and Timing

Reaching St Agnes requires a ferry from St Mary's, which itself is reached by helicopter or fixed-wing flight from the mainland, or by the Scillonian III ferry from Penzance. The logistics are real and worth planning around. Day-tripper boat schedules from St Mary's to St Agnes are seasonal and weather-dependent, so check the Isles of Scilly Travel timetables before committing to a visit. The Turks Head is a short walk from the St Agnes quay, making it a natural first stop. For context on where to sleep nearby, see our full St Agnes hotels guide.

How It Fits the Wider Island

St Agnes is small enough that The Turks Head is, in practice, your main drinking option on the island. That makes comparisons within the island less useful than understanding what kind of experience you're after. If you want a more considered cocktail or wine list, you'll need to return to St Mary's or plan around the wider Scilly island-hop. For drinking options on the mainland before or after your Scilly trip, Dear Friend Bar in Dartmouth and Schofield's in Manchester offer the kind of program-led bar experience that The Turks Head doesn't attempt. Bramble in Edinburgh is worth knowing if you want a low-key but technically serious room. None of those comparisons are meant to diminish what The Turks Head is, they just clarify what it isn't. For everything happening on the island, start with our full St Agnes restaurants guide and our full St Agnes bars guide.

Quick reference: Walk-in only, no booking needed. Leading visited on a clear weekday in late spring or early September for the outdoor terrace. Reach St Agnes via day boat from St Mary's, check seasonal timetables before you go.