Given that I wasn't going on any big holidays in Summer 2022, I decided to do a few small trips, including to two of the Channel Islands: Jersey and Guernsey.
These islands are not part of the United Kingdom or Great Britain but are part of the British Isles. They are located in near proximity to France and many of the road names and locations have French names but the culture is very English, with each Bailiwick having its own currency (but accepting Pound Sterling too). They are not part of the EU (nor have they ever been) and they have an interesting history.
Jersey
Day 1
I visited Jersey in July with a school friend, Zoe. My parents had been a couple of years beforehand and weren't very impressed with the island, but I wanted to explore it for myself. A couple of colleagues had lived there previously and given me a few recommendations so I had an idea of what I wanted to see.
We were only in Jersey for a weekend, flying out first thing on Saturday morning and returning on Sunday night, but we were assured that this would be more than enough by a couple of people.
On arrival, we waltzed right through the airport as no passport was needed and then hopped on a bus (15) directly from the airport to the capital, Saint Helier, which only took 30 minutes. Our Airbnb was actually by another town, Saint Aubin, but we couldn't check in under the afternoon so decided to explore St Helier first. The capital was very nice and surprisingly quiet, despite the balmy weather (24°C). We started off wandering through the small roads adorned with bunting and picked up our breakfast from a small café called Dandy. The food looked amazing, and whilst my friend recommended her egg and bacon roll, I was sadly disappointed by my cinnamon roll. Nonetheless, we tried the coffee and this was my first taste of Jersey milk. One thing Jersey is famed for is its cows, and in turn its produce, including milk, yoghurt, and ice cream.
We then headed to Howard Davis park, where we witnessed the finale of a wedding, before walking around St Helier and eventually along the beachfront towards St Aubin. The heat had really picked up by this point and we were uncomfortably hot, so decided to drop off our backpacks at the Airbnb and change into shorts before continuing our adventure. After a slight (inadvertent) detour to see the Jersey cows in the flesh, we arrived at our Airbnb and having slapped on the sunscreen, we headed off to lunch at Nude Food on the beachfront. Despite the wasps making their presence known, it was a lovely lunch in the sun with delicious food, good company, and even a DJ to keep up the atmosphere.
One thing that really surprised me about Jersey was how quickly the tide moved within only a couple of hours. During lunch, the tide so very far out that all of the boats were now on the shore and the harbour was empty, whereas by dinner the tide was right against the wall and the harbour was filled. I was also shocked by how sporty the islanders were as we saw an abundance of cyclists, as well as sailors, windsurfers, and even paragliders within one afternoon. There were also infinite cars of all sorts, including old bangers, the German brands, and luxury sports cars.
For dinner, we hadn't made a reservation so got turned away by several places before managing to get a table at The Tenby, a pub in St Aubin, where I tried the fish and chips and would recommend. We spent the evening strolling along the beachfront and chatting, as despite recommendations of the nightlife, we'd been up since 3am and were knackered.
Day 2
We awoke to sunshine and a breakfast spread prepared by our Airbnb host, which was lovely and included pastries, yoghurts, bread, and coffee. After getting ready, we walked to St. Brelade's bay, a sandy beach only 40 minutes away. The uphill trek offered some lovely views, as well as a peak at some of Jersey's mansions, of which there were several, often with French or Spanish stylings. Despite the water on the beach being freezing, many people were swimming and enjoying the water sports on offer.
The public transport in Jersey is fairly good (at least for the areas that we wanted to visit), which was a huge help in the 29°C heat. We got the bus back to St Aubin and enjoyed seafood linguine at the Old Court House, which was delicious (though different to the Mediterranean version). We wanted to try the local Jersey ice cream, but the girl who was supposed to be working the stall was absent between 1-3pm so we settled for regular ice creams instead.
We then slowly strolled back along the coast in order to pick up our bags; surprisingly, everyone tended to leave their house doors unlocked on the island so we could easily let ourselves in and out of the Airbnb as required. We just chilled by the beachfront until we needed to catch our flight, so it was a very laid-back Sunday.
We were only in Jersey for two days and wanted to take it easy, however other recommendations received from a colleague who used to live in Jersey include: central market, the war tunnels, the lighthouse, Vittoria for a night out, Wild Fire for a steak, and the Royal Yacht for a drink.
Guernsey
Day 1
In mid-September 2022, I spent a weekend in Guernsey with my parents. I'd initially planned to visit as a solo trip but my parents had never been and were keen to tag along (and I to explore with them).
Similarly to Jersey, we flew down on the Saturday morning and back the Sunday night so it was an express tour of the island. Despite a flight delay, the journey was only 30 minutes and by 9.30am we'd landed on the small island. We rented a car to tour the island and very quickly noticed a few differences between Guernsey and England: the number plates were all black with white numbering, every household had a Fiat 500, and 'filter in turn' (where the cars from each direction take turns in going) is a common junction on the road.
We followed the coastline anticlockwise around the island and the landscape changed greatly as we drove; the north was littered with golf courses and towers, St Sampson in the east was fairly industrial, and St Peter's Port was a cute town. Within a few hours we'd circled the island, finding very narrow roads (many of which lacked pavements and which explained the abundance of Fiat 500s) and many honesty boxes on the side of the roads selling everything from fruit and eggs to firewood, which reminded me greatly of Hawaii. The houses varied in style but tended to be well-maintained and hanging baskets were prolific.
Once we checked into our hotel, we headed to The Pickled Pig for lunch, where I enjoyed another fish and chips, followed by Hauteville House, which is where Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, lived whilst in exile from France. As a keen reader, this was one of the two landmarks I wanted to see, the other being Sausmarez Manor. Soon after, we stumbled upon the latter, where you could enjoy the gardens with sculptures galore and the beautiful manor. We witnessed a wedding and then enjoyed Candie Gardens, which featured statues of Queen Victoria and Victor Hugo, before dining in the hotel.
Day 2
The weather in September was a balmy 17°C and very sunny, so many locals were swimming and surfing in the famed secret beaches. After a lie in, we too decided to go for a dip, followed by a delicious breakfast (featuring Guernsey butter) at the Duke of Richmond Hotel.
Having circled the island the previous day, we weren't sure how we were going to spend our final day as many recommended landmarks were on the nearby island of Sark (another island forming part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey) but we were excited nonetheless. There was one landmark that my mum wanted to see: the little chapel, which was by far my favourite sight, featuring a miniature chapel (I was almost the size of the door) decorated with mosaics, which was adorable yet stunning. It's slightly hidden but easy enough to find and there weren't many people there when we visited, which allowed us to fully explore the attraction at ease.
We then drove along the coast in an attempt to find some of the secret beaches and hidden gems the island had to offer and we certainly weren't disappointed. Petit Bot Bay was the first hidden beach we found, featuring one of Guernsey's 15 loophole towers, which were built by the British to defend against the French during the American War of Independence (as France were an ally of the USA at the time). The only thing to note here was that the water quality was only rated 'Sufficient' (after being rated simply 'Poor' in previous years). The second beach we encountered was in St Martin, featuring beautiful turquoise waters and a beautiful view.
The last stop on our little tour of the island was of course the capital, St Peter's Port, which features an abundance of boats in the marina. We arrived at midday, just in time to see a few stragglers from the Butterfield Half Marathon that had started that morning. During the Summer months, Guernsey offers 'Seafront Sundays' during the day in the capital, with the theme being 'Eat, Drink And Be Local!' whilst we were there. This consisted of various market stalls featuring everything from clothes to candles to stamps, as well as live music and food stalls. We explored the market, buying a rocky road from 'Bakes by Steffi' which was delicious, before heading to The Old Government House Hotel for an afternoon tea.
I'm partial to an afternoon tea and have had many throughout the UK so feel that I can give a fairly good opinion on the matter. The benefits of this afternoon tea were that it was cheaper than usual (at only £30 a head for the regular menu), the atmosphere was pleasant (featuring good service and a musician), and the sandwiches and scones were delicious. The cons for me were that the sweet treats were too rich and several bits of crockery were dirty (as our table was al fresco under an olive tree). Nonetheless, I'd recommend the afternoon tea here overall.
I tried to go old-school and use a physical map to direct us instead of GPS, which was fun but the many one-way roads and hidden entrances made the plan slightly difficult. It's also very hard to park in many places as a disc is required. Regardless, I'd definitely recommend renting a car on the island in order to make the most of what the island has to offer. One thing I noted was that throughout the island, public toilets were in good condition and often had loo roll and soap, which isn't always the case abroad.
If we had longer, I would definitely get some surfing lessons and visit the other nearby islands including Sark and Alderney, but regardless, the trips to Jersey and Guernsey were lovely and offered much more than I'd expected (the good weather helped a lot too!).
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