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 - 30

Inspired by thoughts of Morbihan and its rich archaeology I decided to visit the what is probably the oldest dolmen in the Channel Islands this afternoon, being approximately 6,500 years old.  Heading to La Sergente, on the headland above Petit Port it was a matter of dodging the showers which were being blown towards the island on the brisk northwesterly wind.  Sark, on the horizon appears to have missed one but it looks like Herm and Jethou were being hit.

The dolmen was excavated in 1923, prior to this time it was covered by a mound.  During the excavation the only finds were 4 pottery items, there were no human remains present.

Today it is located on the headland between Petit Port and St Ouen's Bay, a special place to visit, particularly at sunset.

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.