Shipwrecks, buses and a plane home

Our last day in Guernsey proved to be a strange one. It started well – with a super cooked breakfast at the Cobo Bay Hotel, but then unravelled with our plan to go to see Fort Grey a little way along the coast. In theory it was a straightforward 10 minute bus journey, but bus operator CT Plus has been suffering from staff shortages that have prompted the cancellation of hundreds of buses from the schedule.

The first bus we planned to catch, around 10am, didn’t show up. After a bit of head scratching, we twigged that it was one of the cancelled bus services which had confusingly been left live in the online journey planner. The next bus, an hour later, was full and didn’t stop. This may well have been the impact of 4,800 cruise ship passengers in port today as every bus we saw was unusually full.

Fort Grey

My family quite sensibly decided to quit while they were ahead, leaving me to make a solo walk to Fort Grey. It ended up taking around one and a half hours to get there, partly on roads and partly using beach shortcuts. It was pleasant in parts, but I didn’t much care for the stretches without pavements and somewhat scary blind corners.

One small upside was the discovery of a roadside ‘hedge stall’ with an honesty box, selling some wonderful goats milk fudge produced by Les Jonquilles Goats. I had been looking for some sweet treats to buy for the office and this fitted the bill perfectly! I was glad not to have whizzed past in a bus.

Thankfully, Fort Grey proved to be worth the effort. The Fort was constructed in 1803-4 as part of a chain of upgraded coastal defences, but fell out of use by 1891. As with many other fortifications on the island it gained a new lease of life during the German occupation, as shown by an illustration taken from a 1943 German report on island fortifications. In April 1976 the fort re-opened as a museum focused on shipwrecks and navigation, with exhibits covering everything from the Hanois lighthouse to the Oil rig Orion that ran aground at Grands Rocques in 1978.

Over the road from the Fort is a small museum building, next to Guernsey Pearl, which houses the timbers of Guernsey’s Roman Ship (a Romano-Celtic merchant ship which sank in St Peter Port harbour around AD280 after catching fire). The ship was excavated in 1984-86 and returned to Guernsey in 2015 after 13 years of conservation. If I am honest, it’s not the most visually stimulating of finds but the story of what they managed to deduce was fascinating.

On the way back to Cobo Bay…

After the morning’s long walk I had hoped to catch a bus back, but started a walk along the bus route just in case it didn’t materialise. I checked the cancellations list and there should have been a bus, but none appeared so I ended up with another hour and a half hike back. It left us with just an hour before the taxi we had booked to take us to the airport. I was rather glad we were not relying on a bus for that journey!

The flight home (on an Aurigny Embraer 195) was nice and smooth, bringing us directly over Horsted Keynes on the way into Gatwick airport. The only hiccup proved to be disembarkation – a problem with the airbridge meant they couldn’t disembark through the forward doors, so they had to attach some steps at the rear of the plane and take everyone off that way. Still, I was just pleased that we had reached the end of the holiday without any major problems (given how much potential there was for disruption).

Liberation day

Our return to Guernsey coincided with Liberation Day, the annual celebration of the island’s liberation from German Occupation during World War II. One of the features this year was an island-wide cavalcade of military and vintage vehicles, following a tradition first established in 1946.

The Liberation Day cavalcade passes through Cobo Bay

The cavalcade had been visible from the air as we came into land and we soon found ourselves in a taxi at the tail end of the support vehicles. A quick shortcut from our driver got us ahead of the cavalcade, driving down roads lined with expectant crowds on both sides. After dropping our bags off at our hotel we were able to watch the cavalcade roll through Cobo Bay. Lovely to see so many Ukrainian flags in the parade too.

Once the excitement was over we took a walk over to the rocks and bunkers at Fort Grand Rocques. The beaches were packed with this being (a) a local public holiday and (b) blessed with 21 degree heat, the warmest it has been during our trip. The weather has fallen well for the organisers of this year’s Liberation Day events, with the rain forecast to hold off until tomorrow.

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A slow hop to Alderney

After a few days in Guernsey it was time to make the short hop to Alderney. It was the one aspect of the trip that made me nervous, as weather has been known to close off the island from plane and boat traffic. It was a relief then to wake up and see clear blue skies and sun over Guernsey.

Flights between Guernsey and Alderney are operated by Aurigny using two New Generation Dornier 228 aircraft, the latest evolution of a design that originated in the 1970s. These twin-turboprop carry 19 passengers and are perfectly suited to the inter-island hop, which is timetabled at just 20 minutes. In addition to passengers, these planes also carry essential inter-island cargo – in this case, it looked like a few sacks of post were being loaded.

Our flight would be operated by four year old Dornier 228 G-ETAC

There is no online check-in for flights to Alderney, but this was quickly easily sorted when we arrived at the airport around 11am. We were travelling relatively light, with small bags for the cabin (where the maximum dimensions are 35x25x20cm with a 6kg limit) and small cases for the hold (where there is a 20kg limit). Initially we were told that our flight would be delayed by an hour due to fog, but then it suddenly switched back to being on schedule.

As the planes are pretty small we were shown the safety briefing in the departure hall and then led out through a side door to a waiting bus for the short ride over to the plane. Boarding was handled by row, from front to back, with passengers asked to remain on the bus until their row was called. Once it was our turn I clambered on board, somehow managing to clatter my head despite all the warnings (clumsy as ever).

Seating was in a 1-1 configuration for the first seven rows. The eighth row has a pair of seats together, leaving room for the pull-down aircraft door and steps. Finally, the back row provides the only row of three. It’s cosy but completely comfortable. Our seats would be in row 3 today, while my folks were in row 6. Once on board our pilot popped his head out of the cockpit and gave us a final safety briefing and a bit of an update.

Although the skies were beautifully clear over Guernsey our pilot said that Alderney had been fogged up this morning. He went on to explain that we would be taking the long way round to Alderney – so a bit longer than normal, meaning 13 or 14 minutes! If only…

Once we got up into the air at 1.02pm we headed in the direction of Alderney. A sinking feeling came over me as we could see nothing but cloud. Our pilot came over the PA system and told us that we would be returning to Guernsey.

Our figure of eight flight path from Guernsey to Guernsey on GR206. Courtesy of Flightradar24.com

After safely returning to the apron at Guernsey airport our pilot gave us a fuller update. He said that they hadn’t expected it to be as bad as that from the forecast they had seen before setting off. From the cockpit they had not a single sighting of the airport – or indeed, Alderney. The forecast for the rest of the day suggested it could go either way. Now it was just a waiting game…

We were told to collect our luggage from the belt in arrivals, then go back to check-in and have our boarding passes stamped – then head back through security to get airside again! The wait began. It was hard to believe the conditions could be so different over Alderney as we looked out at the cloudless blue skies over Guernsey.

Some of the more seasoned travellers from Alderney started to hatch a Plan B, getting in contact with boat owners in Alderney to discuss a possible rescue by water. Meanwhile, one or two of the passengers decided to abandon their plans altogether. At 2.45pm it was announced that there would be an indefinite delay to our flight (now designated GR206A) and the subsequent mid-afternoon flight to Alderney.

Indefinite delay at Guernsey Airport

The prospects didn’t look great, so I started checking out hotels we could book in Guernsey… but then everything changed. We were going for another attempt! Apparently conditions were looking much better.

Boarding for our second attempt started at 3.40pm and by 4.05pm we were up in the air again. Sixteen minutes later we were down on the ground at Alderney airport. It was a huge relief to have made it this far and I finally started to believe that our slightly mad holiday might just work out. We walked across the tarmac to the airport building and our luggage was wheeled across by trolley not long after.

Alderney Airport was the first operational airport in the Channel Islands, opening in 1936, before Jersey (1937) and Guernsey (1939). The dinky terminal building dates to 1968 and the runway was last resurfaced in 1999. There has been much debate about its future, particularly after runway and plane problems earlier this year effectively shut the airport. A proposal is being assessed that would see the construction of a new terminal and the extension of the runway to 1,050m, meaning Aurigny’s larger ATR aircraft could land there.

A short taxi ride delivered us to the centre of St Anne’s, the main town on the island. After dropping our stuff at La Ville Hotel we headed down the road to the Georgian House where a tasty meal revived us after a long day of hanging around!

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Batterie Mirus

The highlight of our short stay on Guernsey was a guided tour at Batterie Mirus (1941-42), led by Amanda of Tours of Guernsey.

Batterie Mirus (originally named Batterie Nina) was the largest battery installed during the German occupation of the Channel Islands, utilising four 30.5cm naval gun barrels from the scrapped Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr III, with a range of 51km . Our tour took in one of the four gun emplacements and the accommodation block attached to it, which has been preserved by the volunteers of Festung Guernsey.

Batterie Mirus

After wandering up a lane to the site, I was astonished at the scale of the circular concrete gun pit – even before we descended into the extensive complex of rooms used to house the ammunition stores, engine room, ventilation systems and quarters for the 72 crew needed to operate the gun. The pictures really don’t do this site justice, which is another good reason to go on the tour and see this for yourself!

As we looked down on the gun pit, now appreciating its scale, Amanda told us the story of the gun barrels that once sat here – from their capture in 1940 whilst en route to Finland to their installation on Guernsey. It’s amazing to see the historical record from official German photographers and one local clandestinely capturing the arrival of the guns and their transportation to the site on a 48 wheeled trailer. Such was the difficulty of the route that one road junction had to be remodelled to get the guns through, which is a modification that endures to the present day.

Once we had taken in the outside we were led down into the complex, around the inner walkway of the gun pit and into every room inside the complex. It really is quite incredible to think how many people were based here and at the other three gun positions in close proximity. An excellent walk through of the rooms, aided by photographs and a model created during lockdown, really helped me understand how the site operated.

In a first for this tour, we were lucky enough to see a framed set of original wooden panels from a toolbox for Batterie Nina which had recently been discovered when a local chap who had been on a tour here took up some old floor repairs and understood the significance of the markings they carried.

The engine room was the final stop on our tour and this contained the biggest surprise – some surviving wall decorations from the 1940s. On one end of the room was a giant anchor with a motto in gothic script ‘Wir fahren gegen england’ (We drive towards england) while at the other a large Nazi Eagle grasping a wreath containing a swastika. Interestingly, you could see traces of another swastika and the outline for a much larger eagle, suggesting that they had started to paint a larger version and then switched to a smaller option.

Once our tour of the interior was complete we headed back outside and learnt what happened after the surrender. At the end of the war a local farmer went into the battery and found it set out immaculately, with uniforms laid out on every bed, but within 48 hours it had been completely stripped of everything useable, reflecting the desperate needs of the local population.

The site had one last, nasty, surprise – a depth charge buried in the gun pits ready for use to disable the guns. It gave folk a shudder to think of their kids playing on the site in the with those still in place. Thankfully, the depth charges were safely removed. The four guns of Batterie Mirus were all scrapped in the 1950s.

I’ve been on many guided tours around the world over the years, but this was among the very best I’ve experienced anywhere. An incredible amount of research has gone into the tour content, including the use of a private collection of photographs to bring the story to life. Amanda is very involved with the site, being one of the volunteers helping to keep the site in good condition throughout the year, and that deep engagement and knowledge of the site really runs through the entire tour.

On top of that, the tour was incredibly professional from start to finish. Amanda was miked up throughout the tour so all 24 attendees could very clearly hear what she was saying – a compelling and unfamiliar story revealed with great delivery, humour and personality. My less than mobile folks had been unsure about booking places on the tour, but the information that Amanda supplied before the tour greatly reassured them and gave them the confidence to book. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to anyone.

Three days in St Peter Port

A three day stay in St Peter Port over the early May bank holiday weekend gave me an opportunity to explore a few more of the sights in Guernsey’s capital than I managed on my last short visit.

St Peter Port, as seen from Castle Cornet

Our first stop was a guided visit to Hauteville House, the home of Victor Hugo in exile, where the novel Les Misérables was written (the billiards room inspired the meeting place for the revolutionary students in the novel). I hadn’t read much about the house, so expected a rather conventional Victorian residence from the plain exterior, rather than the eclectic and surprising family home that Victor Hugo conjured up.

The house is wonderfully inventive with a remarkable degree of reclamation and re-use (doors re-used as tables, bits of chest and seat backs used in panelling and window decoration) with an abundance of symbolism worked into the designs. I was glad that we had a guide to help us better understand the allusions, inscriptions, literary references and hidden meanings on display.

It must have been an unusually creative family home, which Madame Hugo herself described as being a poem into which Victor poured his soul. There was even a photography darkroom created for the use of Victor Hugo’s son, accessed via the Tapestry room through a cleverly concealed entrance in the panelling.

Hauteville House has undergone extensive restoration in recent years, making it a great time to visit. It is truly wonderful and quite unlike anywhere I have seen before.

A detail from the Red Room, Hauteville House

The Guernsey Museum proved to be filled with fascinating surprises. It’s a relatively modest sized museum but what it offers is superb with displays on Guernsey Folklore, the Guernsey French language and a terrific collection of local art (ranging from nineteenth century maritime scenes to a striking Sci-Fi re-imagining of the German bunkers on the island). If I had to pick out one highlight, it would have to be the stunningly beautiful collection of lifelike models of sea creatures from the Blaschka family of Bohemian glassmakers. The flower displays outside in Candie Gardens are delightful too.

I have been wanting to visit Castle Cornet since the 1980s, when our ferry called in at St Peter Port before heading over to St Helier in Jersey. I was not disappointed. The military history on display at Castle Cornet was utterly absorbing, covering topics I knew nothing about, such as the nine year long siege during the civil wars; gruesome tales of the fate of heretics imprisoned in the castle; and the great explosion of 1672, when a bolt of lightning ignited the gunpowder magazine with catastrophic effect – reducing the keep to rubble. The castle was obsolete by the Napoleonic wars of the 1790s, but has survived long past it’s successor, Fort George, which was mostly demolished for luxury housing. Inevitably, the castle was adapted and re-fortified during the German occupation, which is fascinating in its own way.

St Peter Port is incredibly compact, so most sights are easily covered on foot though we did use the bus to get out to Pirate Bay Adventure Golf. It’s a fun, if surprisingly tricky, 12 hole course complete with rafts to get between a couple of the holes. Perfect for a bit of relief from all the brain stimulation on offer at the other museums and sights!

Our visit coincided with a running of the Val de Terres hillclimb on a two day meet spanning 1st and 2nd May. The 850 yard course runs up from the seafront to the roundabout at the top of Le Val de Terres. Over the two days we watched a selection of competitors at both ends of the climb, having initially stumbled across it by accident.

Competitors return down Le Val de Terres after one batch of runs

We ate in a number of restaurants during our stay, but for a special birthday meal we treated ourselves to a night at Le Nautique, a rather wonderful seafood restaurant overlooking the harbour. The menu offered so many mouth-watering dishes I could have devoured, but I eventually settled on the medallions of beef and monkfish (accompanied by rosti potatoes, asparagus, orange pepper sauce and crispy bacon). It was simply exceptional. A meal to remember!

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Bunkers and batteries

Guernsey has been fortified for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Today, the most obvious signs of this are the Napoleonic era martello towers and forts; the concrete bunkers from the Second World War and the largely Tudor walls of Castle Cornet. However, there are traces of fortification from much further back, including trenches that were once part of Iron age defences. In short, you can’t wander very far in Guernsey without stumbling across fortifications of one type or another!

Fort Doyle (1805)

The scale and density of the German fortifications far exceeded anything that came before. Nearly 10% of all the concrete for the Atlantic Wall was used in the Channel Islands. An astonishing degree of tunneling accompanied this construction work, with almost as much rock quarried from the Channel Islands as across the entirety of the Atlantic Wall. The legacy of this intensive period of fortification was over 300 concrete structures across the islands, many of which survive to this day.

I planned a series of walks that would take in some of the fortifications that are accessible to the public, utilising the wonderful bus network. Timing is everything. Many of the German fortifications that can be accessed on the coast are volunteer-run and only open a couple of afternoons a week.

Naval Observation Towers MP3 and MP4 (1942)

The first stop on my island wanders was the striking Naval Observation Tower (MP3) and the surviving defences of Batterie Generaloberst Dollmann that surround it at Pleinmont.

Naval observation tower MP3 (1942)

The original plan was to build a network of six towers around the island which would allow ships to be observed from any angle (with the readings taken from two towers allowing the calculation of the range for the guns) but the naval fortress plan was dropped before the sixth and final tower could be constructed. This tower took seven weeks to complete, from the breaking of earth to operational status. The reinforced concrete in the ceilings and walls is 12 foot thick.

In day-to-day operation, each of the five observation levels of the tower supplied information for a different battery. Once the naval fortress plan was abandoned the top three levels were used for the navy, while the army took over the bottom two levels. After the war the tower was abandoned for many years, stripped of its steel fittings following a scrap metal drive, while the personnel shelter next door (1943) was used to store hay.

Initial preservation efforts in the 1970s/80s were followed by a more sympathetic restoration in the 1990s. The site re-opened to the public in July 1993 and you can access every level. I didn’t feel the temptation to climb the ladder onto the rooftop with mist wiping out any view whatsoever! It is fascinating to see the rangefinders installed by the society and read about how the system worked.

The tower is open between April to October on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons (2-4.30pm). At the time of my visit the admission for an adult was £3 (cash only) and a copy of the souvenir guide was available for 25 pence. The guide is highly recommended, as it also contains the details (and map) for a hour long circular walk of the battery. I didn’t fancy tackling this in the mist so came back the next day to tackle this.

The site of the battery was cleared in 1948 and nature has reclaimed much of what was left, but there is still much to see on the walk – including the partially demolished remains of a radar station, a concrete minefield marker, gun emplacements, battery command post and naval tower MP4.

The striking location for Naval tower MP4

It’s well worth seeing MP4 for its unique design and striking position. It is also completely unrestored, presenting a fascinating contrast with MP3, and open to explore at your own risk. I tentatively stepped into the rubble strewn interior with the help of a torch but didn’t explore beyond ground level. Seeing the corroded metal, flooded and uneven floors, flaking doorframes and unprotected staircases gave me a fresh appreciation for the restoration that has taken place on MP3.

Fort Hommet (1804)

The headland at Fort Hommet was an important site in the coastal defences of Guernsey. The Martello tower at the heart of the main fort building was constructed in 1804, followed by an expansion in the Victorian era that added extra batteries and barracks. However, the most significant upgrade of the defences came in 1943 with the conversion of the entire headland into a strongpoint known as Stützpunkt Rotenstein.

Fort Hommet/Stützpunkt Rotenstein

Stützpunkt Rotenstein was established with the construction of 12 defensive structures (with fortress standard two metre thick reinforced concrete) surrounded by a minefield. One of these structures, a 10.5cm Coast Defence Gun Casemate Bunker, was selected for restoration as the best survivor of its type. Although stripped of all its fittings the society have done an incredible job of replacing all the interior fittings, re-hanging the doors and installing the same type of French field guns that would have been used here.

The restoration took two years from the excavation of the site (all the defences on the headland had been buried in 1952 after the scrap metal drive had been completed) to the opening of the bunker to the public in 1995. A fascinating series of photographs on display in the bunker shows the state of the bunker at the beginning of the process and the work that went into getting the interior back to the state it would have appeared when operational.

The bunker is open between April to October on Tuesday and Saturday afternoons (2-4.30pm). At the time of my visit the admission for an adult was £2.50 (cash only) and a copy of the souvenir guide was available for 25 pence. The guide is highly recommended, as it also contains a map of the headland and a helpful explanation of elements that might easily be missed (e.g. the site of the Victorian barracks demolished in 1955).

The French manufactured Schnieder field gun (1916)

Another of the structures here, a searchlight bunker, was converted into the Shrine of the sacred heart in the 1960s but sadly my trip didn’t coincide with the couple of open afternoons this month.

Fort George (1780-1812)

On the hillside above the harbour at St Peter Port a new fortress was built to replace an increasingly crowded Castle Cornet as the main island military headquarters as the threat from France grew. In its last evolution, occupying German forces used the site for a Luftwaffe radar early warning station. Much of the fort was demolished in the 1960s for the development of luxury housing despite 21% of islanders being against the idea.

Today, you can walk up to the site of the fort on a pleasant walk through the wooded clifftops. The imposing gateways still remain and every now and again you can see where parts of the fort walls have been incorporated into the luxury houses. One of the outworks for the fort, Clarence Battery, remains intact. The gun positions on the battery defended the southern sea approaches on one side and the harbour on the other (with excellent views across to Castle Cornet).

Fort Pembroke (1811), Fort Le Marchant (1680-1854) and Fort Doyle (1805)

A handy footpath on the north eastern coast, starting in L’Ancresse Bay, connects a chain of three forts, bunkers and loophole towers that makes for a very enjoyable walk. It’s easily accessed by bus and there are some lovely little beach cafes in L’Ancresse Bay for a bit of refreshment and home baked goods.

Fort Le Marchant can be visited when the rifle range is not in use (look out for a red flag that indicates firing is taking place). It’s a fort that has undergone quite a bit of change over the years, with major expansion carried out between 1793-1812 in recognition of the growing threat posed by the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. In 1854, a large barracks block was added, but this was demolished in 1971. A handy display board gives a good visual impression of how the site would have looked in 1868.

Fort Le Marchant

Post war landscaping and nature’s eager reclamation have combined here to hide many of the structures added during the German occupation. However, a few structures remain visible and provide a reminder that this headland was adapted as a strongpoint (Stützpunkt Marschen), making this one of the most well defended spots on the north coast.

The final stop on the walk, Fort Doyle, is a smaller affair that supported three cannons. It was considered obsolete by the early twentieth century and was converted to house an automatic light and foghorn system. However, it saw military use once again in the Second World War, when it was adapted by the Germans for use as an anti-aircraft gun emplacement with concrete used to strengthen the existing nineteenth century structures.

Fort Saumerez

A visit to the l’Eree headland presented a good view of the ranging tower (MP2) at Fort Saumerez which was curiously built on top of an existing martello tower. It’s an odd fusion, but no less odd than MP5 which was built on top of a windmill (Vale Mill) complete with its sails and topped by a conventional roof (long since removed for safety reasons) for maximum disguise. An assortment of German fortifications and trenches can be found in the surrounding landscape.

German Underground Hospital

The German Underground Hospital (Ho.40) and Ammunition Store (Ho.7) in the parish of St Andrew is an astonishing site. It’s the largest structure from the German occupation in the Channel Islands covering around 75,000 square feet and unlike its equivalent in Jersey has not been commercialised.

Inside the German Underground Hospital

A walk through the vast complex, walls dripping with condensation and your footsteps echoing around the largely empty chambers, is quite chilling. It is impossible to forget that hundreds of workers were forced to excavate the tunnels and construct the concrete lining over a span of three and a half years in what must have been terrible conditions.

The hospital, which could accommodate 500 patients, finally came into use in 1944 to accommodate soldiers wounded in France, most probably during the fighting around St Malo.

German Naval Signals HQ

The final site on my wanders was the German Naval Signals HQ in St Peter Port, which is absolutely fascinating. The complex has been restored to something close to it’s original appearance using detailed information supplied by the former Naval Signals Officer and other German personnel who worked there.

It’s an important site, but the discrete position of the bunker, nestled between chalets in the grounds of La Collinette Hotel gives little hint of that. The signals HQ here (originally located in the hotel, then switched to the bunker in February 1944) handled all radio traffic for the German forces between Paris, Berlin and the Channel Islands.

The operations room in the Naval Signals HQ

Other fortifications that I took a look at included Fort Pezieres (1680-1842), a star-fort near Pleinmont; a few of the 12 loophole towers built in 1778-1779; assorted bunkers along the coast; and the roadside personnel shelter tunnel at Rue de la Varde at Pleinmont. Nevertheless, I still have plenty left to see on my next trip to Guernsey!

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Three nights in Guernsey

My family holidays in the 1970s and early 1980s mostly took us to Jersey in the Channel Islands, which felt like a thrilling destination from a child’s eye perspective. The stunning beaches and landscapes made for some pretty memorable holidays. Yet, I was always aware that there was more still to discover…

On our homeward trips the ferries would call in at St Peter Port in Guernsey before heading on to Portsmouth or Weymouth. We couldn’t see much, but our view of the port and Castle Cornet was tantalising. One channel island was exciting enough but the thought that there was another we had never seen was mind-boggling. I desperately wanted to visit. It has somehow taken over 40 years to get around to that, but it felt good to put that right.

The Blades perform over Castle Cornet in the Guernsey Air Display

The trip was originally planned as a short break with my better half, timed to coincide with the annual Guernsey Air Display. Unfortunately, work commitments eventually turned it into a trip for one. However, every cloud has a single lining. I shredded my carefully balanced original plans and set about plotting a more ambitious itinerary criss-crossing the island by bus to take in some incredible hikes along the stunning coastline.

Travel is not entirely straightforward right now. To be able to explore the island without any quarantine you need to be double vaccinated and have spent the last 14 days in the CTA (Common Travel area). You have to set up a Travel Tracker account no earlier than 48 hours before your flight, complete the pre-arrival form and upload your vaccination certificate. It’s a somewhat clunky process, with the end result confusingly not quite matching the screenshots in the 49 page guide they provide.

On arrival you get to complete the Travel Tracker process, helpfully assisted by staff in full PPE who look like they have stepped straight out of a hospital ward. Once you have successfully completed this process you get a blue wristband that allows you to move landside, picking up a box of lateral flow tests on the way through. The local bus drivers need to see evidence of your blue status before boarding.

Guernsey feels a bit like the land that time forgot – no masks, no social distancing and little in the way of reminders that covid is lurking. The only clue to its existence are the screens in some shops. Absolutely no-one wears a mask anywhere. It’s as close as you are likely to get to the pre-covid world, short of getting in to Fortress New Zealand. Lateral flow tests have to be taken on arrival at your accommodation and then every other day.

One of the four seawater bathing pools at
La Vallette

My stay was a delight from start to finish, filled with glorious scenery on the many coastal walks I took on, lovely refreshments from super beachside cafes and some really fascinating historic sites (it’s quite astonishing how much history can be packed into such a small place). Everyone I encountered along the way seemed so friendly and the island just had a great vibe to it.

The bus network is pretty impressive and makes it easy to get pretty much anywhere on the island easily. The adult single fare is a very reasonable £1 using contactless payment but the unlimited travel passes are super value if you are planning on doing a lot of bus rides.

Most of the places I visited on the island, including all the small beachside cafes I stopped at, took contactless payment. A few of the volunteer-run bunkers are operated on a cash-only basis so it’s worth having some small notes on you. If you take any cash out from machines on the island you need to remember that Guernsey banknotes are not legal tender on the mainland.

I am keen to return next year and nothing could deter me, not even the super thorough bag search at Guernsey Airport security. I felt rather sorry for the staff rifling through my dirty laundry but was reassured by their thoroughness. I would have to go back 15 years in my travel history to the last time I had a full empty your bags search like this, in the chill of Eastern Europe. Thankfully, this time I didn’t have an unsympathetic border guard shouting at me to repack faster!

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