Guernsey

The capital - historic St Peter Port – or ‘Town’ as the locals call it – rises up from the bustling harbour full of yachts and fishing boats. With a quaint cobbled high street, narrow steps and alleyways, its history is reflected everywhere you look. Lovely shops, some names you will know, but many small independent shops. Candie Gardens are worth visiting, as they sit at the back of St Peter Port high above the town and give panoramic views over St Peter Port and to the islands of Herm and Sark.

Do check out the recently re-furbished tidal pools for an authentic sea swimming experience! We did one morning and it isn’t anything I have ever experienced before. A little cold at 6 am for my liking… They are a free public amenity steeped in history.

We ate at The Boat House, China Red and Octopus and all of them were outstanding, but do check recent reviews before you sample them for yourselves. There are many gorgeous eateries to choose from and a few have a French influence.

Guernsey has a glorious coastline giving you rugged cliff walks, lovely coastal pathways, beautiful unspoilt beaches, bays and coves, a paradise for making sand castles and enjoying the rock pools. We visited Petit Port, a stunning cove with a 100 metre descent, 272 steps, and no facilities. It was well worth the effort, we had the beach to ourselves!

Many different island tours operate, we did a high level open top safari Land Rover 4x4 tour of the island which was fantastic. A great way to see and learn about the island and with it being open sided you got to take in the sounds and scents of the island. The main tourist attraction you will visit is ‘The Little Chapel’ a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France. Covered in colourful and beautiful shells and pottery, it is possibly the smallest church in the world.

We visited ‘La Valette Underground military museum’ which houses the largest collection of local WWI & WW2 memorabilia. You got a real sense of how locals on Guernsey had to live under the German Occupation. Another museum we wanted to visit but ran out of time was The German Occupation museum. Also if you have time, do visit The German Underground Hospital and Ammunition Store, with its maze of tunnels covering an area of around 75,000 square feet. It is the largest structural reminder of the German Occupation existing in the Channel Islands.

If you are looking for little outings on the buses, consider catching the bus to Jerbourg view point and you could always pop into Hotel Jerbourg for a refreshment before walking to St Martins and catching the bus back. Or take the bus to Le Grand Havre Bay and visit Grand Rocques Kiosk for a drink and maybe lunch! Or head to Fort Grey and visit the Shipwreck museum. You can easily get around the whole island on the small local buses.

We visited Herm for the day which was really enjoyable and a gorgeous island to explore. It should only take a couple of hours to walk around the island if you don’t stop, but we kept stopping to have a swim or relax on the lovely beaches. The island is just one and a half miles in length. Do wear sensible footwear if you are going to walk around the island. If you can I’d recommend you get the first ferry of the day and then you can enjoy the island before it gets too busy. Also you can buy your tickets the day before and buy an open return and then you can return on whichever ferry you wish. You can also do day trips to Sark, Alderney and Lihou, each island has its own unique feel and character.

Guernsey has it all, bucket loads of history and heritage and a temperate climate. It truly is a real gem and a place to get away from it all and recharge the batteries. You’ll be transported back to your childhood and receive a warm welcome from the locals. We just spent 3 nights on Guernsey, which wasn’t enough and hopefully one day we will return and spend longer seeing more of this beautiful place.

Top tips

1) The inland country lanes are narrow so I wouldn’t recommend car hire or you taking your own car, use the local buses to get around. They are very reasonably priced and run very frequently and efficiently.

2) However if you do decide to hire a car, make sure it is a small one! Or hire electric bikes, it is a very hilly island!

3) If you haven’t watched the film ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’, it is well worth watching before you go so you can look out for the landmarks featured in the film when you are out and about on the island.