Channel Islands Part 2: Jersey walks

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St John’s Bay

Our Channel Islands holiday was booked through a company called Headwater which arranged our travel and accommodation and sent us walking routes. Their website promised: Walks on this holiday are gentle and flat. There are no tough climbs. I beg to differ! I imagined an undulating stroll along cliff tops, but we were up and down over headlands so many times that one day John calculated we had climbed over 2000 feet. My feet certainly felt like it.

Northern coast from St John’s to Bouley Bay (8.7km)

All our walks started with a bus journey and most of them required a bus to get back. Fortunately, the bus services on both Jersey and Guernsey are excellent and very easy to use.

We started with the shortest walk which took us from St John’s to Bouley Bay via Bonne Nuit Bay. The latter was a highlight because there was a beach café where we had a lovely lunch. On the way to Bonne Nuit we passed the first of several signs we spotted marking where a Napoleonic era tower had been – the Channel Islands had many of these defensive towers being so close to France. I also found a bench for Jude with a rather nice inscription (and there’s another bench towards the end of this post with a rather smug-looking person sitting on it).

Between St John’s and Bonne Nuit
Site of a Napoleonic era tower
Bench at Fremont Point
Inscription
Looking down to Bonne Nuit from Fremont Point
At Fremont Point

After lunch we climbed back to the cliff tops. In the image below you can see the beach café as we begin our ascent – it’s the low building to the left of the harbour.

Bonne Nuit Bay

We soon came to another remnant of the Napoleonic Wars, La Crête Fort, now refurbished as a holiday home. Spectacular views!

La Crête Fort
La Crête Fort

From here we continued along the coast to Bouley Bay. It was really beautiful, but quite hard work. Towards the end we were surprised to come across a tea plantation.

Giffard Bay
One of many descents
Vicard Harbour
Nearly there!
Tea plantation

There wasn’t an awful lot in Bouley Bay but we strolled around in the half hour before the bus was due. It arrived bang on time (Glasgow buses take note) and we were soon back in St Helier.

Above Bouley Bay
Descent to Bouley Bay
Bouley Bay

South-west coast from Pointe de Corbière to St Aubin (12.9km)

On day two we got the bus to the Corbière Lighthouse which was built in 1874 because of the numerous shipwrecks along this coast. It was operated manually until 1976 when it became automatic. As it was low tide it would have been possible to walk out to the lighthouse – most of the bus passengers did exactly that, but they were probably getting the bus straight back while we knew we had a longer walk and pressed on.

John and lighthouse
Lighthouse

The coast was just stunning as we headed towards St Brelade. The last image in the gallery below is our view as we ate our picnic lunch.

Looking back at Pointe de Corbière
Looking ahead to St Brelade
Coastal path to St Brelade
Rock formations
Beauport beach, St Brelade in background

St Brelade itself was lovely. We looked round the gorgeous little Chapelle de Sainte Marie, the Fisherman’s Chapel. It’s a 12th century building with 14th and 15th century wall paintings.

Fisherman’s Chapel
14th / 15th century wall-paintings
14th / 15th century wall-paintings
14th / 15th century wall-paintings
Churchyard, St Brelade

There was a lovely park along the seafront and another beautifully restored tower.

St Brelade seafront
St Brelade tower house

Although we’d had lunch not long before, we stopped in St Brelade for a coffee on a lovely terrace overlooking the bay. We needed to fortify ourselves for the next climb. On the other side was another beautiful bay and an unrestored Napoleonic tower. Then, you’ve guessed it, almost immediately we had to scramble up another cliff.

Napoleonic tower
Napoleonic tower
Looking back to Napoleonic tower

On our way to Portelet Bay (with another tower) we met a lovely horse, then had yet another climb on the way to Noirmont Point.

Horses at Portelet
Portelet Bay
John above Portelet Bay

Noirmont is the site of some remnants from another conflict – fortifications from the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands. There was a naval battle here in August 1944, hence the memorial to the men of the US Navy who died.

Battery Lothringen No 2 gun
Memorial to US Navy men

From here there was a fairly dull section away from the coast, until suddenly we were within sight of St Aubin and its fort.

St Aubin’s Fort
St Aubin

We didn’t waste time exploring. We needed a beer before the bus! This was probably my favourite day’s walking of the whole holiday.

Beers in St Aubin!
Beers in St Aubin!

St Lawrence Parish and Jersey War Tunnels

After the two walks above we left Jersey for a few days in Guernsey, but we returned for our last day before flying home. However, by this time I could not face another up and down coastal walk and looked for something gentler. I found a circular route around the country lanes of St Lawrence Parish which would also allow us to visit the Jersey War Tunnels, so that is what we did. A flavour of the walk is below – John is looking rather smug on that bench because it was at the top of a very steep lane and he had had to wait for me for quite some time.

Looking across to St Aubin’s Fort
Ducks crossing
Country cottage
Cottage and tower sign
John looking smug on a bench
St Lawrence Parish Church

The Jersey War Tunnels are a sobering experience. During World War II, the Crown left Jersey defenceless and it was occupied by German forces for five years. Dug deep into the hillside by forced and slave workers from nations across Europe, the tunnels were originally intended as a complex of bomb-proof barracks. However, in the mistaken belief that the Channel Islands were to be invaded, Hitler ordered them to be turned into an emergency underground hospital, though this was never used. Today the tunnels house recreated hospital scenes and exhibits about life under the Occupation: resistance, starvation and, eventually, liberation.

Museum entrance
Tunnel entrance
Tunnels inside
Recreated dentist
Recreated telegraph operator

It was hard not to feel emotional, especially as celebrations for the 80th anniversary of liberation were in preparation while we were on the islands.

So that’s it for Jersey, but there’s still a lot to say about the other islands we visited: Guernsey and Sark. I’m linking this post to Jo’s Monday Walks.

Channel Islands ,

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  2. Wow! These walks look gorgeous, but I can definitely imagine they were not easy. A well-deserved beer must have wrapped up the whole experience perfectly. I remember seeing a TV series about the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans, but darn, I can’t remember what it was called.

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  3. From my experience on the Southern coastal path and from Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby, I absolutely concur with you. Clifftop walks are never flat!!! Always lots of ups and downs. You had fantastic weather though.
    I love that little chapel.

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  13. At least you and John managed those walks even if they were underestimated by the travel agent. Looks amazing, the views, the history and all that sea air. Bliss.

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  14. That looks a fantastic holiday. I love coastal walking. Great weather as well. My idea of heaven is the large cover shot with beach and gorse headland to explore. Having read and enjoyed the book I’m looking forward the The Salt Path. (Film) P.S. Hope they don’t spoil it by adding totally unnecessary additional drama… like they did with Wild. (2014) The Way. (2010) A Walk in the Woods. (2015) With scenery as remarkable as your photos of Jersey capture that’s all any film requires, moments of pure beauty, but they’ve always got to add extra stupid bits that spoil it. Like abandoning your trousers and getting stuck on a ledge. AWITW. Bob. BSS. PPS. Eating Jersey new potatoes all this week for dinner.

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    • It was a good holiday – I like coastal walking too, there is just something wonderful about being by the sea. I haven’t read The Salt Path yet. We’ve been buying Jersey Royals from Tesco and they’re good but not as good as the ones we brought home from Jersey.

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  18. Well you got some fabulous views and such lovely weather too, but if I were you I would be having a word with that travel company, there is no way I would manage so many ups and downs. You had some lovely days out and I agree with you on the bench inscription. On my last day on Jersey my boss and I took off and explored the north side of the island as our flight wasn’t until the evening. It’s very beautiful.

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  20. Wonderful photos from your scenic coastal walk …well done making all those ups and downs! Love the wall paintings in the church and all the historical facts about the island. Makes me really want to visit!

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  21. I might easily be moved to write a stiff note to the tour organisers who described the route with 2000 ft of climbing in it as gentle and flat.

    Glorious weather for your holiday.

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  22. Sorry you found the coast walking hard but it is a stunning coast isn’t it? Looks like you had the weather for it too. I love the channel islands and have been a few times. I think it was from there the first time I went abroad with my parents when we took a day trip to St Malo on the ferry.

    You used to be able to do day trips from Poole or Weymouth to both islands too for a time. More recently only Guernsey though. It was good value I think £30 return. I did it a few times. Sadly it’s not possible now, the ferry schedules don’t allow it.

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  24. The views were fabulous, Anabel, and worth a bit of effort, but I agree- you can have too much of a good thing! Love the bay with the cafe. Perhaps an Uber home? But that chapel is just wonderful. I’m voting for Day 2, and thanks for the link xx

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  25. I’ve just forwarded this post to a friend who’s going walking in Jersey this week with her husband. Volunteering in the library this morning, another friend accosted me, looking fo travel books about Jersey, as she’s about to do some walking there, starting on Thursday. See what you’ve started! Seriously, this looks a very inteesting place both to walk, and to poke about looking for less familiar history.

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  26. Apart from the War Tunnels (which I found fascinating and moving), you’ve shown me areas of Jersey we didn’t manage to visit, and with some stunning coastal scenery! I love the little chapel at St Brelade too (especially the wall paintings), and who would have thought there’d be a tea plantation here?!

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  27. Great post and photos. Coastal walks over cliffs are always up and down. I don’t know why people who create these trails don’t ever count these up & down as they add significantly to the difficulty of the trails… I remember walking one coastal trail in Orkney. We had been told of the distance to cover but not about the ups & downs so we never manage to get to the end and had to hitchhike to get back to our hotel as it was getting late. (Suzanne)

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    • The Channel Islands are still a popular tourist destination, but not as much as they used to be. One of our taxi drivers told us that many hotels had closed in the last couple of decades. I think as European destinations became cheaper and more accessible fewer Britons chose these islands.

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  29. You certainly had a lot of ups and downs in this one. Jersey looks like a very rocky island but the scenery is lovely. The fishermen’s chapel looks very sweet and I love the horse but favourite is the inside the tunnels shot, the perspective looking down the corridor is great 😊

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