Island host royal couple's visit

The Duchess of Cornwall took a barefoot stroll on the beach

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have visited the Isles of Scilly for a tour of St Mary's boat club, horticultural centre and harbour.

They travelled to the island and visited the Gig Boat Club where they were shown a boat built in 1870 which the Duchy Benevolent Fund helped do up.

The royal couple then met the gig's crew and chatted with islanders, including the owners of a restaurant.

Later Camilla bought a sea urchin before walking barefoot on the beach.

Charlie Carss, who co-owns the Boat Shed restaurant with her husband, Pete, was introduced to Prince Charles and Camilla.

Harbour walk

She said: "It was lovely to meet them, we started the Boat Shed as somewhere for crabbing and then we applied for planning permission to turn it into a restaurant and the Duchy of Cornwall supported us.

"They were very easy to talk to."

Afterwards the royal couple visited the Trenoweth Horticultural Centre where they met staff and were given a short presentation about its history.

Their final stop involved meeting holidaymakers during a walk along St Mary's Harbour Quay where Prince Charles chatted in French to a crew of sailors who had come across the English Channel and were moored alongside the jetty.

The couple also met the harbourmaster and schoolchildren before leaving the island.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall first visited the Isles of Scilly together on an official royal tour in 2005.