WE WERE in a minibus careering along between the airport and our hotel when the driver slammed on the brakes, screeched to a halt and reversed up the hill into a layby.

It was at this moment that I realised the Isles of Scilly require a very different mindset – we had just given way to two pensioners motoring along at 8mph in a golf buggy.

I had my suspicions things might be a little different when, at Land’s End Airport, we clambered into a tiny 12-seat Twin Otter plane and the pilot gave his safety briefing squatting in the aisle before turning to squeeze past a passenger into the open cockpit.

After 15 minutes with my knees by my ears and shouting over the sound of the engine, we began what felt like a near-vertical descent to St Mary’s Airport. On touching down, the pilot clambered back through the plane, flung open the door and wished us well, before slamming it behind us and shuttling back to the mainland.

This really was an island getaway – there was no getting away fast. At 28 miles from the Cornish coast, this cluster of beautiful islands is the last stop in the UK – the next landfall is Canada, 3,000 miles to the west.

But despite the initial trauma, I soon decided this windswept British outpost must be Britain’s best-kept secret. Why on earth haven’t I been here before?

With its old-fashioned seaside charm, quite unlike run-down resorts on the mainland, there is an air of the ‘proper Britain’ about it, a civility that appears lost in towns and cities these days. How refreshing.

Surely there must be some signs the commercial rat race has reached the islands though – it’s 2011 after all? Tesco Express? Drive-through McDonald’s? No. The trip is worth it already. I have found the one place in the British Isles without a Tesco.

Instead, the islands, the five main ones being St Mary’s, Tresco, Bryher, St Martin’s and St Agnes, are dotted with honesty boxes offering everything from bulbs, eggs, plants and books in exchange for a few coins, and with just one police car, crime is almost non-existent among a population of 2,000.

The main town on St Mary’s, Hugh Town, has a bank, post office, museum and a small supermarket, as well as a host of cafes and pubs serving hearty seaside grub, not to mention outllets for over-priced yachting gear.

We stayed at St Mary’s Hall Hotel, in Hugh Town. St Mary’s is the largest of the five inhabited islands, and the only one where cars are allowed, or needed. With just nine miles of roads and 30 miles of coastline to explore, it’s no wonder everyone gets about on foot, bike or golf buggy.

The hotel is in a beautiful Georgian building and is clean and comfortable – the staff were friendly and helpful and offered a warm smile no matter what time of day or how bedraggled their guests were after a day battered by coastal winds. The Spirit Restaurant deserves particular mention for its exquisite food, as does the Revive Spa, which offers a range of treatments if all the outdoor activity gets a bit much.

With time not on our side, the receptionist suggested we hire a golf buggy (Scilly Cart Co, 01720 422121 from £30) to see the sights – although you can easily make your way around on foot in half a day. For two twenty-somethings the buggy is not a good look, but after a warning about sticking to the main roads and not parking on double yellow lines, we took off around the island without a care in the world.

We passed stone burial chambers scattered across the islands where Bronze Age chieftains were buried overlooking their lands – although they are a little eerie. The almost deserted Pelistry Bay has brilliant views and the Carn Vean Tea Garden nearby does very good scones.

We stopped off to see Harold Wilson’s grave – the former Prime Minister who died in 1995 loved the islands. He is buried in a picturesque churchyard in the Old Town and his widow Mary still owns a house nearby.

The following day we had lunch at the superb Juliet’s Garden restaurant, which has unsurpassed views over the harbour – even in the rain – and does a very good sausage baguette.

But despite the tranquillity of the Scillies, the islands are not without adventure. From diving with seals to horse riding and surfing, almost anything is on offer if you look hard. We hopped on board Mark and Susie Groves’s boat for a sea safari (islandseasafaris.co.uk from £31 per adult for two-and-a-half hours).

Far from a gentle cruise, this was a wet and wild race across the waves requiring waterproofs – don’t bother doing your hair beforehand. After spotting a seal colony or nesting cormorant Mark would kill the engine and we’d glide silently across the water to get a closer look.

Later, he took us to some of the 530 shipwreck sites dotted among the islands – including the SS Schiller, a German liner which sank in May 1875 after crashing into the Retarrier Ledges, with the loss of 335 lives, and HMS Association, which sank in October 1707. The ship ran aground on the Gilstone Ledges near Bishop Rock after mistaking the Scillies for the mouth of the English Channel.

Back on dry land, battered by the Atlantic winds, it was fitting we should stop off for a well-earned beer at the Atlantic Inn and watched the sea mist settle on the picturesque harbour .

We only spent two days on the islands but there is enough to see and do to easily occupy a week. One of the most popular islands, Tresco, is half an hour by boat from St Mary’s (£8 return). Stepping ashore, this pint-sized island is like a tropical paradise.

The main attraction is the world-famous sub-tropical Abbey Gardens, home to flowers and plants from more than 80 countries, thanks to the Gulf Stream warming the island air.

To the north, there is rugged scenery, crystal clear waters and sandy beaches but further south the island is more manicured, with neat lawns and an air of the well-to-do about it – with prices to match. However, an afternoon lying on the beach and paddling in waters that rival the Caribbean does not cost a thing and is certainly one well spent.

We got the ferry back to the mainland, which although cheaper than the plane, feels painfully slow.

But it did give me a chance to reflect on our trip and I remembered the conversation I had with a kind gentleman who held my hand (I absolutely hate flying) as we flew into the islands.

“‘You won’t want to leave,” he said. “It really is beautiful.”

Old people, why are they always right?

You can sail or fly by plane or helicopter to St Mary’s: Sail on the Scillonian ferry from Penzance – one-way from £42.50 Fly from Land’s End, Newquay, Exeter, Bristol or Southampton – One-way fares start from £67.50 from Land’s End British International runs a helicopter shuttle from Penzance – saver returns start from £149. Note that there are no flights or ferries on Sundays. For more details of all these services, see simplyscilly.co.uk