Explore Samson’s ruins and ancient sites

The tops of North and South Hill can be reached by paths that climb from the sandy isthmus that joins them. On both hills the stone chambers and alignments remain mysterious, even to the experts, and will certainly fire the imagination of the curious explorer. One of the best-preserved Bronze Age stone burial chambers on Scilly can be explored on North Hill which also offers a great vantage point to see the Samson Flats, a Bronze Age field system can be spotted in the sea below or exposed at low tide. An ascent of South Hill reveals more prehistoric graves along with the ruined cottages of the 40 or so people that once lived here. The last two surviving families suffered malnutrition from a diet of limpets and potatoes. They were moved to a neighbouring island by their landlord – not out of an act of kindness, but because he wanted to build a private deer park on Samson.