Sat with a coffee, digging my toes in the soft sand and watching my two children laughing, playing in the sea and build sandcastles is what Sunday mornings on holiday are all about for me.
Less than an hour’s flight from Manchester, Jersey offers wonderful restaurants, fantastic castles and amazing beaches that stretch for miles. It is an ideal holiday destination for everyone. This time we went as a family, however the first time we went just as a couple and had a completely different, yet lovely time.
We wanted to explore a lot of Jersey this time and as we came as a family of four, we hired a car as part of our package. This made life so much easier as we have buckets and spades, towels, spare clothes, oh the list goes on, and driving is so easy around the island.
We could not go to Jersey with our children without visiting Jersey Zoo, founded by Gerrald Durral to promote the conservation of animals, this zoo is a must. Seeing the gorillas and orangutans made their day whilst learning about the animals and what the projects are doing to help protect these animals.
I thoroughly recommend Mont Orgueil Castle in Gorey on the East side of the island. This castle has stunning views over the bay and you can explore all the castle so be prepared to go down steps into the dungeon, go up into the towers and see the Halls. It really made a change to be given full access to the castle and go exploring all the rooms and areas. We then went down to the Gorey beach and this bay goes out for miles when the tide is out, so Jersey ice cream in hand we walk across the sand to the sea where we spent the afternoon.
Elizabeth castle is probably the most famous castle in Jersey as it is just across the causeway from St Helier. This castle has a causeway to walk across, however when the tide is in you will have to get the duck boat across. From Elizabeth Castle there is a second causeway which goes to a little house on the rock. This is where St Helier was said to have lived.
Jersey is steeped in history, especially World War 2 when it was occupied by Germany. The Jersey War tunnels are a must to learn all about the German Occupation. Although we did not visit the tunnels this time I have visited on my last visit and they are really interesting.
We did visit La Corbiere lighthouse which is a beautiful white lighthouse that you have to cross a causeway to get to. The causeway is surrounded by dark rock formations and rock pools, you must take note of the tide times and an alarm will sound when the tide is coming in. It’s the perfect spot to spend a few hours rock pooling and plenty of picnic areas.
Food and drink is a big factor when holidaying in Jersey. Well known for Jersey Ice-cream and the abundance of sea food restaurants, but did you know it has a gin tour? It really does have a French feel with so many pavement cafes as well. The sea food restaurants are wonderful as the catch is brought in daily straight from the fishing boats. One of my favourite seafood restaurants is The Roseville Bistro just near St Helier opposite the outdoor Victorian Swimming pool.
There are many beautiful beaches in Jersey. St Brelades bay is the one where we spent the last day of our holiday. This is a beautiful bay with shallow waters and soft sand. We arrived early and grabbed a coffee to take down to the beach. It was a truly idyllic way to spend our last few hours.
