We arrived on Jersey before lunchtime which gave us plenty of time to do some sightseeing.
We headed east, passing La Rocque Harbour and an incredible number of rocks in the water and many Napoleonic towers.
We parked up and walked along the shore from La Rocque Tower to Le Hurel Tower, which has been incorporated into a house!
We continued around the coast to Gorey Pier and climbed the hill to Mont Orgueil Castle.
The castle has been on the site of previous prehistoric forts for over 800 years. It has been modified and extended over the centuries.
The castle was an absolute rabbit warren but had great views from the top.
There was a really cool sculpture that represented the line of succession and the connections between France and England in the 1500s.
There was also a Falconer present doing demonstrations!
When we were done we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch and headed to our accommodation via a supermarket.
First impressions of Jersey are that it is very different to Guernsey, much more ‘modern’ and the roads are generally wider! They have a really unique parking system-it is basically a scratching that you use to advise when you arrived at the location!
Today we visited Elizabeth Castle in St Helier. This castle was built to replace the castle we visited yesterday.
Due to tides, there are times when a ferry (a bus that also has an outboard motor) takes you across the water to the castle, it’s a bus on sand and a boat in the water.
Elizabeth Castle, has been around a very long time and in the 1600s, was the home of the Governor of Jersey. Most famous of which is probably Sir Walter Raleigh. The castle had information about medicinal plants, gunpowder, seaweed and life as a soldier in the castle.
Sir Walter Raleigh was also our host for an hour, talking about the castle, his life and the Monarchs he served.
When we left, the tide was out so you were able to walk back to the mainland instead of taking the ferry.
Interesting fact, Jersey is nearly 50% bigger at low tide compared to high tide. It has the 3rd highest tidal range in the world, approximately 12 metres.
Rain was threatening so we had a late lunch and headed back to the accommodation.
As the rain hadn’t fallen yet, Kevin went to an area near our accommodation that has 38 bunkers and gun sites that the Germans built in WW2.
He beat a hasty retreat as the rain finally arrived.
Sarah took a rest/knitting day today to get ready for the next busy part of our trip. The temperature blanket has gained several rows today.
Kevin revisited Lothringen Battery.
Where yesterday it was wet, today was glorious sunshine. There is a memorial there for 16 US military personnel who died off the coast of Jersey in WW2 when they undertook an attack on a German convoy.
They attacked using heavily armed wooden speedboats and managed to damage 4 German ships. Unfortunately the fog came in and they got separated; all their boats were lost and there was 1 survivor.
After meeting up for lunch at a pub overlooking the brilliantly coloured water, Kevin’s next stop was the Channel Islands Military Museum.
This was a small museum, in a bunker, housing mostly German equipment, medals and clothing.
Just down the road was Kempt Tower, a Martello Tower built in the early 1800s.
The number of German bunkers and 17th century towers on the island are a clear indication of the strategic importance of not just Jersey, but The Channel Islands as a whole.
Final stop of the day was La Corbiere Lighthouse, built in 1873, it was the world’s 1st concrete lighthouse. At low tide it can be reached by crossing a causeway. Visitors are given a 10min warning via an alarm to give them time to get back to the mainland.
At the lighthouse there was a monument to the rescue of 307 survivors of a ship-wreck.
Jersey and Guernsey were the strongest point on Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. The amount of money spent was deemed disproportionate to what was gained. It is felt that the high ranked officers on the Islands played on Hitler’s fear to keep building bunkers etc, to prevent them being sent to the Eastern front to face the Russian army.
TBH, we would too. Spending the war here would have been much more pleasant than being posted anywhere else.
The letter J was still needed for our parkrun alphabet list. With that in mind we headed off to Jersey parkrun, fortunately it was a 300m walk from our accommodation. Over 400 fellow parkrunners joined us on a gorgeous morning.
One section of the course goes past the local golf course, with the sea in the background, beautiful.
Afterwards we headed to a beach for a swim to cool down and relax. Yet again the water was freezing, but really nice to float in.
We were now approaching lunch so we took a scenic drive, stopping at Cape Sorel, where on a clear day we should be able to see Guernaey, Sark and France. Despite zero clouds in the sky, it was a bit hazy so we saw nothing on the horizon.
Stunning water though.
We then headed to Le Mare Vineyard for a really tasty lunch.
They’ve just taken delivery of 2 roosters that wandered around outside and took a rest under our table.
We took the scenic route back to our accommodation, stopping at a windmill on the way.
That’s Jersey and therefore the Channel Islands done.
Tomorrow morning we take a ferry to St.Malo on the Normandy coast to start the next instalment of our year.
An Unplanned Year 
Leave a comment…