United Kingdom – Channel Islands – Guernsey (Alderney, Sark and Herm)
I flew from Jersey to Guernsey on the afternoon of Sept 16th (BlueSkies, 74E) in a 10 minute flight. Guernsey (GCI)
Things all changed for Guernsey – which has a separate government much more tied to the UK. This was all a big surprise as I had only read about Jersey thinking they would be the same. I am now in a self-isolation hotel room (CAD$218/night) for 2 nights, can’t leave, all room service food that is quite expensive, pay for PCR test at entry and at day 3 (25 each). This is the first hotel room I’ve stayed in for a while, a first taxi ride in I don’t know how long. It is culture shock.
I was visited by the police at 11 am to check up on me. I was told there was a 10,000£ fine for violating the quarantine.
A 4-day quarantine. How silly. I had forgotten how unhealthy they are. I had a 14-day quarantine in Fredericton, NB in May 2020, and it is awful for your health. Absolutely no exercise. Sitting around and eating. Watching insane TV.
Then I found out the bad news. Because Jersey was level 4 and Guernsey did not accept my Canadian (Pfizer) vaccination, I was now in a 14-day quarantine. I wrote a long email and finally filled out an application for “variance”. Despite not having my initial PCR result, the variance was granted dependent on a negative PCR on Saturday morning.
On Friday, my hotel phoned 30 taxis but could not find one. The variance nurse gave me no options and said that delaying the test would affect my ability to leave. I was not allowed to walk despite the hospital being 2.3kms from my hotel. She suggested I find another way to leave the island on Saturday (there are no ferries for 5 days, and no flights were possible to Dinar, the closest airport to St Malo). It is ironic I could leave on Saturday but not Sunday without a test. Any violation of any of these rules would result in a £10,000 fine and a 21-day quarantine.
La Trelade Hotel. Besides the cost (I am not used to paying for hotels and 125£/night was about 4 times what I had ever paid for a hotel room), the hotel was very kind and treated me well. I am especially in gratitude to Peter, the manager who kindly drove me to my mandatory Covid test when I was unable to find a taxi to drive me there.
I had 3 nites in the hotel and didn’t see a speck of Guernsey. On Sunday, I took a taxi directly to the ferry to board at 12:30 with departure at 13:10 (I didn’t want to be late for this one). During my 4 days on Guernsey, I spent £700, CAD$1300, all for a bureaucracy that is dated, rigid, of no value and only punitive to tourists.
Below is what I posted on the FB page Visit Guernsey. I will post it every 3-4 days for the rest of the year – I will get my pound of flesh.
GUERNSEY – DON’T COME
There are many friendlier places to spend your tourist dollars.
AVOID GUERNSEY.
ø Out of Date Covid Rules. On Sept 16, I arrived from Jersey (at level 4, my Jersey PCR was negative) with a Canadian Pfizer vaccine pass that is not recognized by Guernsey, and was forced to undergo a 14-day quarantine in a hotel at my expense. I do appreciate La Trelade Hotel that were very kind to me and would recommend them. I had to pay for 2 negative PCR tests.
ø A Rigid Bureaucracy. I had been travelling through most of southern and western Europe for 9 weeks with no problems, and then ran into a backwards-thinking, bureaucratic Guernsey. I had to beg public health for a “variance” to be allowed to leave. After 4 days of only seeing the inside of a hotel room, I was escorted directly from the hotel to the ferry, being treated like I had a dread disease. I saw nothing of Guernsey and was 700 pounds poorer.
ø Not much to see. The only interesting things to see are WWII Nazi remnants. It’s a pretty boring place. There is expensive shopping.
ø Expensive. One must be rich to come to Guernsey. There is no cheap accommodation, restaurants or activities. Car rentals are difficult so most tourists have to take public transport.
ø Tax haven. The government has pursued this as its role in the world. Real estate has become out of reach of locals. Tourism, as exemplified by how I was treated, is of little importance. Why would anyone want to support such a nefarious economy?
GUERNSEY
Little Chapel. Brother Déodat came to Guernsey in 1904 to practice his faith away from potential persecution. He first built a small chapel 9 feet long and 4.5 feet wide, but was criticized and he demolished it overnight. Four months later, the second version was finished, but it only lasted 9 years, as the Bishop of Portsmouth was unable to fit through the door during his visit to the island in 1923. Again, he demolished and rebuilt the small grotto to have a larger opening.
In 1939, Déodat returned to France and passed on the task of decorating and maintaining the grotto to Brother Cephas, who took care of it until 1965. The chapel was left unkept and restored in 1977. The windows were broken three times in 2003 and five stained glass windows again in 2010, causing £3,000 worth of damage. The chapel has been described as “probably the biggest tourist attraction in Guernsey”. Major structural work in 2015 cost £500,000.
The Little Chapel is decorated using the mosaic style “pique-assiette” using broken pottery, china, glass, buttons, figurines, and/or jewellery cemented onto a base of almost any substance. Any combination of pieces can be applied, restricted only by the individual creator’s imagination.
It has room for around eight people. It is thought to be the smallest consecrated church anywhere in the world. The chapel remains free to visit. It is about a 5km walk from the port and my boat to Sark.
I booked a return boat to Sark for Saturday, the 18th, to Sark (29£, depart 10:30, return 4 pm), but had to cancel as my quarantine was extended for the duration of my stay on this hellhole of an island.
SARK.
Like stepping back in time, until 2008, Sark was governed under Europe’s last remaining feudal system – a set of rules, based on Norman law, followed for more than 400 years. There are no cars or street lights, so travel is by horse and cart, bicycle, or foot. Tractors are the only form of motorized vehicle – the ‘toast rack’ tractor chugs up and down the steep hill, taking passengers through a tunnel of trees from the harbour to the island’s settlement, known simply as The Village.
Greater Sark and Little Sark are connected by a narrow isthmus called La Coupée, or ‘The Cut’ in English. The 100m concrete walkway, built by German prisoners of war in 1945, is one of Sark’s most famous landmarks.
Sark became an official Dark Sky Community in 2011 and is the first Dark Sky Island in the world.
A nine-mile walking route takes in the whole island, although there are options to shorten the way or split it into two or three days of walking. There are plenty of trails, but no official coast path, so after visiting viewing points, you will need to retrace your steps inland at times.
La Seigneurie Gardens
Window in the Rock Hike. In the 1850s, Rev Collings was Seigneur of Sark. His mother brought the Fief in 1852 from Pierre Le Pelley who was forced to sell to repay the debts of his father that were accrued through the folly to mine Silver and had the Window in the rock blasted into the cliffs above Port Du Moulin to frame the view of Les Autlets. It is also used to haul Vraic (brown seaweed) up from the beach and used as fertilizer. Also used to haul other goods shipped in the bay below.
Les Autlets and Tintageux are detached angular rocks resembling altars or tables and are nesting sites for Guillemots and Oyster Catchers.
The trail. Starting at Creux Harbour, head through the tunnel and up the steps to the road. You will soon see a footpath sign on your right. Ascend to the cliff top for views down to the harbour. Further along the coastline is Maseline Habour, the larger commercial port where most passenger ferries dock. Here you will find toilet facilities and a small café.
Keep on the trail, turning left at a fork to follow the footpath towards the northern tip of the island. You will arrive at another fork – turn right to Eperquerie Common and Landing or turn left along the rugged north-western side of the island to the next viewing point.
Retrace your steps along the main path until you see a sign for Window in the Rock (Port du Moulin) in the valley – the hole in the rock offers a lovely frame for the bay below.
ST PETER PORT
Victor Hugo House. (closed) House Museums/Plantations. Home to Victor Hugo for nearly 15 years (1856 to 1870) designed and architectural adjustments by Hugo himself. The only house that he ever bought, it was given as a present to the city of Paris in 1927 by his descendants.
German Occupation Museum. Life in Guernsey 1940-1945.
Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery
Guernsey Tapestry Gallery
La Vallette Underground Military Museum. Guernsey’s history with a focus on military operations during WWII, housed in tunnels used as fuel storage for German U-boats.
Castle Cornet defends the harbour at St Peters Port.
German Naval Signals HQ. Bunkers were built during WWII to provide support for German fleet based in the Channel Islands.
HERM
The smallest of the islands at just a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, it has white sandy beaches, turquoise water and a quaint harbour. There’s one pub, the Mermaid Tavern and only one hotel to stay in, the White House. Along with cars, bicycles are also banned on the island, so to get around you’ll need to rely on your own two feet.