We had arranged to meet the indomitable Lars and Inge in France. They had driven from Denmark for the Le Mans 24. Last year we had found the crowds a but much at Le Mans so we just planned a short trip to meet up with our friends. While thinking about the best way to cross the channel, it occurred to us that we had never been to the Channel Islands. Using Condor ferries we could go Poole -> Guernsey -> St Malo and come back via Jersey. This is how we found ourselves, a few days later, on a high speed trimaran doing 35 knots towards Saint Peter Port.
Guernsey was a bit damp and overcast. We had a ride around the island. This did not take long, it is only about 10 km across in any direction. There were a few nice beaches and coves linked by a myriad of small roads. My overall impression was to do with how compact the whole place is. Houses and buildings everywhere. Not a square inch of space going to waste anywhere. If you ever wanted to get away from it all don’t come here. The hotel was lovely and very welcoming. In the morning, we went round the island the other way, just in case we had missed anything, and hopped onto the ferry to St Malo.
The old part of St Malo looms impressively above the port as a solid block of four story stone buildings. It is surrounded by a large wall and you enter through one of the impressive gateways. Inside is a labyrinth of cobbled street, small shops, restaurants and bars. We stayed at the Hotel Nautilus, right in the centre. Recommended. The owner is very friendly and helpful. He has a small garage, where he keeps his Harley and where we could also park our bike overnight. Just up the road was a wonderful vegetarian restaurant. We sat at a table on the cobbles and Diane had to move her chair in occasionally to let cars past. The food was terrific, tasty and imaginative. Finally, we took a stroll round the ramparts to watch the sun set over the ocean.
Heading east from St Malo for a couple of hours brought us to the town of Falaise, birthplace of William the Conqueror, first of the Norman Kings of England. Just south of here is a small, converted barn that we had rented for a couple of nights. Lar and Inge, still driving the 1975 Volvo 303, arrived and hour or so later. We sat up until late around the barbeque chatting and catching up. Back in Falaise, the next day, we explored the castle and ended up having a big history lesson. The castle has been partially renovated but also patched up using modern materials. We were each given an iPad through which, in each of the castle’s many rooms, you could view how it might have looked back in Norman times. A combination of virtual reality and augmented reality that was really quite effective. We learnt how William, a direct descendant of Rollo the Viking, consolidated Normandy before taking the English crown after the battle of Hastings. England and Normandy and a large area of France remained a single kingdom, the Angevin Empire under the control of the House Plantagenet, until the Wars of the Roses in the late 15th century. I sometimes think modern politicians could do with a better understanding of long and common history of France and England. The day was rounded off with cheese toasties and beer sitting outside a classic café. Perfect.
In the morning we breakfasted on “Eggs in purgatory” – eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce with chunks of fresh, crusty bread. Lars and Inge set off to explore some of the WW2 sites in Normandy while Diane and I headed for the evening ferry to Jersey. Along the way we followed the coast and came across Mont Saint Michel – a striking looking island, abbey and fortress that rises steeply from the sea. Sadly we did not have time to visit but we did collect a small bottle of Calvados from one of the many local sellers.
Previously I only knew a few things about Jersey such as Jersey butter, Jersey milk, Jersey cream and Jersey Royal potatoes. This led me to imagine Jersey as being predominantly fields of happy cows interspersed with potato patches. The reality is more like a massive and spread out housing estate full of old people. Bailiwick of Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency. It is not part of the UK – as my phone provider was keen to point out just after slapping me with a load of roaming charges. Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy and remained loyal to England when Normandy was lost to the English Kings in the 13th century but never became part of the Kingdom of England. Being on the border between England and France, the island was at the fore in the Anglo-French wars and was invaded several times up to the end of the Napoleonic wars. In WW2 the island was invaded and held by the Germans for five years. The main source of income for Jersey is financial services, not cows. In fact, we never saw a cow in the two days we were there. I now suspect that name ‘Jersey’ is given to a breed of cows and that Jersey milk comes from Jersey cows that have never been anywhere near Jersey. Anyhow, Jersey is one of the world’s largest offshore finance centres and has often been accused of being a tax haven. Agriculture accounts for just 1.2% of the island’s GVA. There are some interesting signs of the money around the island. Public toilets for example. Something which appears to be rapidly going out of fashion in most of the UK. Clean, well kept, free to use, public toilets. Very handy. Also parking space by the beaches, coves and harbours. Free parking up to twelve hours. Lovely. A few odd things as well such as the expensive sports cars on a tiny island with a maximum speed limit anywhere of 40 mph. I can see the appeal as a retirement location, if you can afford it (average house price £567,000). Mild climate, nice little beaches, quiet pace of life, comfortable life style mixing with other retirees who are similarly comfortably off.
At the top, right-hand corner of the island we found a pair of immense wicker-work puffins. Momentarily excited at the prospect of seeing real puffins we read the associated plaques and discovered that, these days, the iconic Atlantic Puffin colonies of Jersey are down to just 4 breeding pairs. Fishing, pollution and rats are blamed.