Isles of Scilly, UK
Fewer than 2,000 people inhabit St. Mary’s, largest of the Isles of Scilly set off the Cornish coast. Most residents live in and around Hugh Town, the island’s main hub, which offers visitors an array of cute shops, cafés and pubs, along with a 16th-century garrison complete with star-shaped castle (now a hotel), curtain walls and bastions. St. Mary’s real treasures, however, lie along its miles of paths and nature trails – dramatic seascapes of misty rugged coves, long stretches of pristine white sands, and an impressive collection of prehistoric monuments that includes Bronze Age burial chambers, a menhir (standing stone), and a tiny Iron Age hamlet. Walk or cycle through the Lower Moors wetlands, a nature reserve that leads to Old Town, the island’s other settlement. The Isles of Scilly offer divers more wrecks per square mile than anyplace else in the world.