Jersey Activity Guide

I was hoping to get some time in on the water but with winds forecast to gust up to 70 mph a day on land was probably more sensible.  A quick drive around the south west corner of the Island revealed some interesting conditions.

 Getting photographs proved to be a challenge.  The tide was out when I visited the slip to the north of Corbiere but the wave recording buoy a few miles to the south of Jersey was recording a wave height of 8 metres at this time.

A number of roads were blocked around the Island, either by fallen trees or roof's deciding to part company with the rest of the building.  This toilet was clearly not designed to withstand winds that were peaking at over 60 mph.

I spent some time putting the finishing touches to a new book on the activities, which it is possible to experience on Jersey.  The plan is pretty simple, take a range of activities, plan 5 suggestions for each activity at a range of different levels and finish your visit to Jersey with a final day experiencing some of the Islands history.

Activities, which are covered include sea kayaking, surfing, coasteering, rock climbing, fishing, SUPing etc.  Some of the suggestions are suitable for beginners whilst others require more experience.  So just decide whether you want 5 days of one particularly activity or 5 different activities for one day each.

The plan is to have the book completed in the next couple of months, ready for the summer season, a few more days of appalling weather can only help to speed the process up.

 There are plenty of opportunities for coasteering around the coast.  Either with or without a guide.  In the summer it is a great way to spend a few hours.

 I suppose I might be biased but the sea kayaking in Jersey is as good as anywhere.

  Cycling along part of Route 1, just above Greve de Lecq.  The Island has a great network of cycling routes.

The final suggestion is to spend a day visiting some of Jersey's dolmens, either by car or cycle, finishing your weeks visit sipping a pint and watching the sun set over the west coast.

Daily Picture - 24

Another day of winter sunshine.  The network of Green Lanes on Jersey are ideal for cycling and allow some unusual views of a familiar landscape.  This is looking across St Ouen's Bay, early afternoon today.  St Ouen's Pond is visible, surrounded by its reed beds, they provide a home for the Marsh Harriers which could be seen flying around the area earlier.

Parish Crosses

On a day, when paddling wasn't an option I decided to visit all of the Millennium Crosses on the Island.  Every parish placed a cross and a stone at suitable locations, I had visited the Millennium Stones, in one continuous, a journey of 49 miles.  The wayside crosses which were placed around the Island are based on the design of a medieval cross, a model of one which can be seen at Elizabeth Castle, having been placed there in 1959.  It is thought that there many of theses crosses around the Island but they were probably all destroyed during the Reformation.

The circular ride to each of the Millennium Crosses is an entertaining way to pass a few hours and the route will take you some interesting areas of the Island.  The total distance was 39 miles which contrasts with the 49 miles it takes to cycle around the Millennium Stones

 First stop was the cross of St Brelade.  On a road junction near to the Airport garages.  It does look like it could do with a visit from the Parish gardeners.

 

 The St Peter cross is on the northern perimeter of the airport.  From here it was the shortest distance to the next cross, close to St Ouen's Manor.

The St Ouen's cross is close to the main entrance of St Ouen's Manor.  The flower beds added a dash of colour which was missing at many of the crosses.

 The St Mary cross is only just in the Parish.  Situated at Greve de Lecq it close to the historic barracks.

 Built during the German Occupation La Route du Nord runs above the cliffs of St John and it is where the parish decided to locate their Millennium Cross.

 The Trinity Cross would be easy to miss, located close to the walls of the Parish Church.

 The parish cross of St Martin is the only one on the east coast.  Close to Archirbondel, from here to St Clement's cross my next stop was the longest non stop stretch on the tour of the Millennium Crosses.

 The St Clement's cross is situated on the sea front at Le Hocq, overlooking some superb sea kayaking waters.

 From the St Clement cross it was an uphill ride to the Grouville one, situated on small grassy section of land at the top of Grouville Hill.

 St Saviour's cross is close to the Parish primary school.

 The St Helier Cross is in Victoria Park, which is the small open space close to the Grand Hotel.  This cross bears an inscription in Jerriais (the traditional language of the Island) À la glouaithe dé Dgieu (To the glory of God).

The last cross was in St Lawrence.  Located at the top of Mont Felard it was a steep climb to the final cross.

A Millennium Day

Towards the end of the 1990's the States of Jersey gave each Parish ( the island consists of 12 parishes) a wayside cross based on a medieval design.  The Societe Jersiaise presented to each Parish a granite standing stone, to be placed at various locations designated by the Parish.

Ronez Quarries donated the granite stones, which are between 9 and 12 feet high and the Jersey Field Squadron agreed to transport the stones and to help erect them.

The project was first suggested by Societe Jersiaise member Philip Le Brocq who said, "The standing stones will be giant fingers pointing to the future and inspiring people to think what the future holds for them."

Today I took the opportunity to cycle to all of the Millenium Stones, in one continuous circuit.  It actually took a bit of research to decide which was the most effective route, eventually deciding upon an anti-clockwise track, finishing with the St Brelade stone, which is the closest to where I live.

First stop St Lawrence.  Part of the way up Waterworks Valley, just below Dannemarche Reservoir, built in 1909 it was the second of the islands reservoirs

  Weather still wasn't great when I reached stone number 2, St Saviour.  Also located by a reservoir, Grands Vaux, constructed in 1952 it was the first big project from the Waterworks Company after the Occupation.

St Helier was next, on the waterfront at Havre des Pas, close to the seawater swimming pool.

 St Clement was next, after nearly 50 years of living on the island I had never seen this rural corner of this south coast parish.

 Grouville is next, looking towards Mont Orgueil Castle, one of the islands finest historic monuments.

 Half way through, St Martin's stone is on the breakwater at St Catherine's.  I am probably closer to France than my house.

 It was a long stretch to Trinity.  Hidden away in the trees it is not that obvious to find, somewhat spoilt by the proximity of the rubbish bins.

Sorel is the location for the St John stone. Sark is just visible behind, the scene of some great kayaking a couple of weeks ago.

St Mary is the smallest parish in terms of population.  The Parish placed its stone close to the North Coast Footpath.

 

It was a reasonable distance to the St Ouen stone, looking out over the whole of the west coast.

 

Most people think of the airport when they think of St Peter.  The parish stone was placed in front of the local primary school, a personal connection as my dad was head of the school when he retired.

 The last one, I arrived at the same time as a rather spectacular Marsh Harrier.

All that remained to do was to sink a quick pint at the La Pulente and then complete the journey home.  A total of 48 miles, which was surprisingly further than I expected but it did take me to some interesting parts of the Island.

Dolmen Day

Another day of fairly constant westerlies at around force 5 encouraged another day on the cycle as opposed to being out on the water.  Rather than just a random ride around the Island I selected 5 dolmens and decided to join them together, using as many of the cycle routes as possible.  

I headed east from St Helier, following the coast initially before heading inland.  Mont Ube was reached first, in just under 3 miles.  The route to Faldouet went through some of the most pleasant countryside of St Saviour and St Martin, using small lanes to cover just over 5.5 miles.  It was then 3.5 miles to Dolmen du Couperon.  I stopped for drink and food because it was over 13 miles to Grantez, overlooking the west coast of the Island.

The route to the final dolmen dropped into St Ouen's Bay before a short climb to the headland above La Pulente, to visit La Sergente.  From here it was onto the Railway Walk and the cycle track back to St Helier.  Following the route that I took was exactly 37 miles.  It gave a real purpose to visiting some of the most fascinating historic sites on the Island.

A great day out.

First stop was the Dolmen de Mont Ube, to the east of St Helier.  Approximately 6,000 years old, the dolmen was excavated in 1848, sadly there had been significant damaged to the structure by people quarrying.  It had also suffered abuse as a rubbish dump and a pigsty.

La Pouquelaye de Faldouet, is pretty close to Gorey, although it would be quite a strenuous uphill walk.  It was first recorded as a site of historic interest in 1682 and was excavated several times before the start of the 20th Century.  Built about 6,000 years ago and has an unusual double chamber.

Le Dolmen du Couperon, overlooks the north east corner of the Island.  Approximately 5,000 years old it was first excavated in 1868, although not very well.

 Grantez, is located in a quiet corner of St Ouen the north west parish.  6,000 years old it was excavated in 1912, 8 human skeletons as well as bones from a variety of animals.  Grantez is a very special place for many people.

 La Sergente, on a headland between La Pulente and Corbiere, is possibly the oldest dolmen on the Island, at approximately 6,500 years old.  It was excavated in 1923, prior to this it was covered by a mound.  This was the last stop on the cycle route, it was pretty much all downhill to St Helier.

Looking across to Corbiere, it was clear from the sea state that the wind was still blowing fairly constantly from the west.  Cycling seemed like a good choice.

Jersey Cycle Rides

As the remnants of Hurricane Bertha brushed past the Channel Islands, leaving a showery, blustery airstream in its wake, it was clear that conditions were going to be less than pleasant for a few days. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to get the bikes out and to see something of the interior of the Island as opposed to the coastline. 

What a revelation, we cycled down roads we had never been down before saw hardly any traffic and had a couple or really memorable days.  We followed Route 1 and Route 3, information about the routes is available from Jersey Tourism, but we were pleasantly surprised how clearly signposted they were. 

 Corbiere, with a sea state which isn't typical of August.  Just heading out on Route 1, 40 miles right around the Island

Heading around Petit Port headland, one of a couple of short sections which were off road.

A steady climb out of St Ouen's Bay.  I had never been on this road before.

 We stopped off at Greve de Lecq for breakfast.  It would be great one day if the island authorities put up a sign which encourages you to enjoy the beach.  Everything on these signs is telling you not to do something.

 Hamptonne is in the middle of the Island.  There are exhibits regarding the agricultural heritage of the Island.  Route 3 passes by the entrance.  It is one of a number of properties which are looked after by Jersey Heritage

 The entrance to one of the finest passage graves in Europe, at Hougue Bie.  Another fascinating stopping point on Route 3.

 Another short section of off road, a hidden corner of St John's

 This stone is supposed to be in the centre of Island.  Cycling the other way you would miss this.  It is part of Route 3, which winds its way through the centre of the Island.

 On Route 1 you spend a considerable amount of time wandering around the narrow lanes of St Martin's.  Some of the climbs are pretty steep. 

Mont Orgueil Castle sits overlooking Gorey, on the east coast of the Island.  It is well worth a visit if you are cycling Route 1, it is one of the finest castles anywhere.