London, Jersey and Guernsey

Aug 13-18
AC854 YYZ-LHR, Aug 15 BA1340 LHR-JER, Aug 17 BA1347 JER-LHR, SK500 LHR-CPH, SK949 CPH-YYZ

As we look to continue to look for new countries to visit, the Channel Islands between the United Kingdom and France provided a good opportunity to add Jersey and Guernsey to our list of countries visited. I had originally booked this trip over the May long weekend, but a contractual disruption of regular ferry scheduled service between the islands made it impossible to visit both. I originally shifted the trip to Scotland, but ultimately decided to defer the UK trip to a time when interisland ferry service was again available.

Aug 14

After our overnight flight to London, we were able to refresh in the Arrivals Lounge at Heathrow before catching the Elizabeth line to our hotel. After a quick nap, we went out for a walk, before meeting a friend for lunch in Canary Wharf.

Walking along the Thames, we looked across to the City of London

HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy light cruiser permanently moored as a museum ship by the Imperial War Museum. 

Tower Bridge (1886)

Monument to the Great Fire of London (1671), more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a fluted Doric column

The Royal Exchange in the financial district. 

The Bank of England building

Good Night Oscar ran on Broadway in 2022, winning several Tony awards, including Best Actor for Sean Hayes. When I recognized we would be in London during its West End run, I jumped on it.

Sean Hayes’s incredible performance did not disappoint

"Infinite Accumulation", public sculpture by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, outside Elizabeth line entrance to Liverpool Street station

Liverpool Station

Although we only had one day in London, we packed it full with visiting two friends and enjoying a play. We made our way back to the hotel to get some well-deserved rest.

Aug 15

We checked out of the hotel early for our morning flight to Jersey. While we were in London, Air Canada’s pilots were in a strike position and it looked likely that our Monday afternoon flight back to Toronto would be cancelled. However, while waiting for our flight to Jersey, I was able to find new backup business class flights on United via Newark, using Mileage Plus points, that assured us that we’d get home.

With the stress of our flights addressed, we had a relaxing flight to Jersey, picked up our rental car, and headed right into the capital Saint Helier. We parked near the town centre and started to explore.

The Freedom Tree sculpture (1992), by Richard Perry, commissioned by the Public Sculpture Trust, symbolizes re-growth, peace, and freedom following the island's 1945 liberation from WWII Nazi German occupation

Looking across Saint Aubins Bay at high tide

16th Century Elizabeth Castle, accessible only by boat at high tide

One of the amphibious buses that allows travel to the castle whatever the tide level

Liberation Sculpture in Liberation Square, commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jersey's liberation

Great War Arch, located at Weighbridge Place, commemorates more than 8,600 islanders who fought in the Great War 

"La Travailleux D' Cauchie" or "The Docker" statue, near the entrance to the Jersey Museum, depicts a dock worker pulling on a thick rope

At Jersey Museum, a banner from the inaugural Channel Islands Pride Parade held in Jersey in 2015. 

A bronze replica of the ancient Greco-Roman sculpture Centaur with Cupid

Piquet House bordering on Royal Square

Ceremony at the Cenotaph

1885 Monument of General Sir George Don (1756-1832), located in The Parade garden, designed by Pierre Robinet

The tide is heading out at La Rocque Beach as we make our way counter-clockwise around the southeast tip of Jersey

Because of the high tidal variance, the boats are built with legs to beach properly when the tide goes out

Small rocky formations and a remote fortification near the coast, as we look east towards France

Looking down on the town of Gorey, hosting the Gorey Fete with food, music, and games

From the beach looking up at Mont Orgueil (1462) (French for 'Mount Pride') Castle on the east coast of the Island

Looking up at the castle walls of Mont Orgueil

Looking north up the east coast next to Fliquet Bay

Back in St. Helier for dinner, walking past the Clock Tower building and La Croix de la Reine (Silver Jubilee Cross), erected in 1977 to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. 

States Building, which houses Jersey's legislative assembly

St Helier Central Market, located within a Victorian arcade structure that was rebuilt in 1881

While enjoying dinner on the patio, we could see the old town festooned with Jersey and Union Jack flags

Back at Elizabeth Castle at low tide, the path across the bay is now exposed

More of the now-expansive beach at low tide

St. Aubins Harbour, now a temporary dry dock

La Corbière Lighthouse (1874), situated on a tidal island, linked by causeway to the shore at low tide

The Saint-Malo sculpture (1997) commemorates a maritime rescue in 1995

WWII German fortifications built on the coast by the lighthouse

Warnings of the dangers of the tide

Rocky beach along the causeway back to the mainland

Having covered a good portion of Jersey, we headed back to our hotel and got some well-deserved rest to be ready for our next channel island.

Aug 16

With the new fast-ferry service between Jersey and Guernsey focused on tourists and local day trips, they bundled in a tour with roundtrip ferry service for no additional cost. I didn’t have high expectations for the tour quality, but was pleasantly surprised we had a local guide who knew the island well, and after meeting us at the ferry, he took us on an over four-hour driving tour covering all the bases.

Heading to the ferry, we stopped to enjoy the sunrise from the beach

Admiring a ship’s bell near the ferry terminal at Jersey port, as we wait for our ferry to board

La Gran'mère du Chimquière (2500–1800 BC) (The Grandmother of the Cemetery), Neolithic statue-menhir located at the entrance to the St. Martin parish church in Guernsey

Looking west along the rocky southern coast of Guernsey from a scenic overlook

Our first sightings of Guernsey Cows with their distinctive markings

Little Chapel, a small church almost entirely covered in a mosaic of broken china and pottery shards

The human-sized door of the tiny building telegraphs the scale

The decorations continue into the tiny interior chapel

Closeup shows how the patterns are formed from unique patterned pieces of broken china

One of approximately 2000 remaining endangered Royal Golden Guernsey Goats, saved from extinction during WWII by being hidden from the German occupiers

Pleinmont Observation Tower with bunker, a German-built fortification from WWII

WWII German artillery

Bunker for soldiers who supported the artillery gun

Another gun protected the south west tip of Guernsey

Fort Grey, colloquially known as the "cup and saucer", is a Martello tower located on a tidal rock in Rocquaine Bay in Saint Peter

With the tour officially over, we are back at St Peter Port

Weighbridge Clock Tower, erected in 1846 to commemorate the inaugural visit of Queen Victoria to the island

Liberation Monument unveiled in 1995 by the then-Prince of Wales (now King Charles), to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Guernsey's liberation from German forces on May 9, 1945

Navigating the narrow pedestrian streets of Saint Peter Port

The Lloyds Bank building, located on High Street, was originally constructed in the early 1700s as a merchant's home

St. Pierre Cathedral (1907), adjacent to Marks & Spencer, completing the High Street

Bronze statue of the French writer Victor Hugo, created by French sculptor Jean Boucher between 1906 and 1913. Hugo spent time on the island from 1851-1870 while exiled from France

To explore more of the island, we caught a bus to the countryside north of town. One of many of the derelict tomato greenhouses that dominated the economy until the price of electricity spiked in the 1970s

Happy to be walking rather than trying to drive the narrow laneways

Exit from the German Underground Hospital, the largest structural reminder of the German occupation

Some of the museum artifacts

Exploring the extensive tunnel network

Well preserved but still very damp

One of the tunnels used for filming of the 1972 Peter Sellers film “The Blockhouse”

End of the tunneled area

Looking up at one of the now-sealed escape hatches

A nice perspective of the massive the tunnel structure

“Section number 6” marking helped navigate the tunnels

German Communication Wagon

Exhibit of how the tunnels were cleared from the rock by mostly slave labour

A recreation of the how the hospital was setup for potential casualties

Hospital kitchen facilities

Back in St. Peter Port, Hauteville House was the residence of Victor Hugo during his exile

Grounds of Hauteville House, where Hugo lived from 1856 to 1870, during a period in which he wrote Les Misérables and Toilers of the Sea

View of Castle Cornet and the harbour from the house gardens

Ornate entrance to the Hauteville House

Subaru Sambar van, a Japanese kei class microvan, not available in North America

Island Archives located in the deconsecrated St Barnabas Church

One of the remaining preserved road markers that the Germans added to the main routes to facilitate navigation during the occupation

Looking down at Castle Cornet and the harbour

Town Church (1466), also known as the Parish Church of St Peter Port, is the Anglican civic church for the island of Guernsey

Pedestrian walkway connecting High Street to the harbour

Catching a few shots of the harbour as we wait for the ferry back to Jersey

Zooming into the structure of the 5 acre Castle Cornet complex

St Peter Port Lifeboat Station is operated by the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) one of only four lifeboat stations in the Channel Islands

One of the lifeboats supporting the station

The ferry ride back to Jersey was much rougher than our journey over, and it was a reminder of just how exposed the islands are to the winds of the Atlantic at the entrance to the English Channel.

Aug 17

For our last day on Jersey, we were able to explore the remainder of the island and get a good look at the tidal variations, with time to explore at both low and high tide, before our late-afternoon flight back to London.

Enjoying the view from our breakfast at our hotel’s patio restaurant

Back at La Corbiere concrete lighthouse with blue skies to provide a low tide reference

Enjoying a close up view of the lighthouse

Unfortunately, the gates were closed

Looking back across the causeway from the lighthouse

Back at the German fortifications

A sailboat, rounding the island

The WWII German Naval Tower MP2, also known as the Radio Tower, is now available for rent as an Airbnb

Exploring the sandy west coast beaches under a wall of fortifications

Kempt Tower (1834), a historic Martello tower located in St. Ouen's Bay, also an Airbnb

Entrance to Channel Islands Military Museum, repurposing some of the WWII fortification

Some of the relics on display

Prisoner Parcel box from WWII

Canadian food supplied by the Red Cross

More Canadian sourced food

View of the beach from a gun lookout

The museum had a large collection, but some elements felt a little too close to celebrating the Nazi history

One of about 440 surviving Enigma encryption/decryption machines, used for German WWII communications.

Grosnez Castle, ruined 14th-century castle in Saint Ouen, situated on the Grosnez headland on the northwest tip

Arched entrance to the castle

The very rocky coast with the strong winds off the north Atlantic do not support much vegetation, despite the relatively warm climate

A more modern light, marking the northwest edge of Jersey for passing marine traffic

More of the rugged coast with another German observation tower in the background

Closer view of the tower

Heading further along the north coast, we stopped for a view of Plemont Bay

Making our way down to Plemont Beach

Large willow sculptures of two puffins, part of the 'Bird on the Edge' project, created by artist Jane James.

Aiming for high tide, we made our way back to La Crobiere to view it as an island with the causeway covered

With the relatively shallow water we could see the now-submerged path

Devil statue on the trail to the Devil’s Hole

Goat navigating the rocky coastline

Well-framed mountain goat

Last look at the rocky coastline before hiking back to the car and heading to the airport

After dropping off the rental car, we were able to visit the lounge in Jersey before our flight to London. We were scheduled to fly back to Toronto from London at noon the following day; however, it was also clear that Air Canada likely wouldn’t be able to resume their operations from the strike shutdown in time for our flight. We did have our fallback flights on United, so knew that we would get home, but preferred that Air Canada would accommodate us. Unfortunately, they didn’t actually cancel our flight until 8pm on Sunday, leaving us little time to adjust, and few remaining options home. As we were monitoring available inventory closely, I was able to get confirmed on the last seat of a very early SAS flight connecting through Copenhagen, and Tom was able to get Air Canada to route him through Newark on United.

We were very lucky to get Air Canada to accommodate us with business seats that arrived close to our original scheduled time. Luckily, we had switched to a hotel near the airport, so it was a quick transit to my 6:00am flight, but still a very short night.

Aug 18

It was a long day of travel, but we very much enjoyed our overdue trip to the Channel Islands and were happy to officially mark off Jersey at country #114 and Guernsey for #115.