A night and a day in Jersey

Its clear over Jersey

What are these? Crates of tomatoes?

Strange - I struggle to remember arriving at the airport nor the bus journey into Saint Helier.  I must have spoken to people on the bus because I took their recommendation to eat at the Pomme D'Or Hotel   - (not disappointed, correct price for what it was and friendly 'exotic' staff - it is clear that I am no longer in the EU) before walking to my hotel...

The Almorah Hotel - on the left

My review gets voted "Most helpful"

I really prefer Booking.Com to Tripadvisor for reviews - you can only post a review if you made your reservation through the Booking.Com service.  The reviews also seem to be more realistic and fewer rants from confused Americans who failed to realise that UK power sockets have user operable ON/OFF switch

After my amazing breakfast it was a brisk walk to the tennis club - turns out the wrong tennis club and then an even brisker walk back down the hill to the right tennis club to see Tom Hands win his match.  Tom and Father did not know I was coincidently in Jersey - ha ha ha!  Anyway - afterwards to the family chalet...

Very nice - especially inside and so it should be for the price

There followed an afternoon on the beach (St Brelade's Bay) - most unusual for me - and a trip around the west end of the island - I definitely prefer Guernsey.  The chalet park is about 100m from the airfield - where the planes turn for taxiing - so I was on time for my flight but sadly Flybe were not.

Atlantic Airlines - still going strong - I see these planes all over the place - the one on the right is at least 50 years old (Lockheed Electra)

 

I can't complain as it was an engineering issue - but they did a very poor job indeed of keeping us informed, ditto Jersey Airport.  In the end I picked up the "gate agents only phone" and dialed the special Flybe number - surprised to be talking to a passenger but I got the result

Take Off - almost the last plane out before the airport closed for the night

And landing at BHX

Free as the air on... Alderney

So close but so different - Guernsey is town-and-country, Sark is a private fief, Herm feels like beach holidays and Alderney - a bit "Faeroes".

It was foggy and cloudy in Guernsey (apparently all day) - so our take off was delayed - just a few miles away it was sunny on Alderney (definitely all day)

I flew with Aurigny with is Alderney in the local language...

The 'co-pilot' works for the airline as a despatcher - but has never been to Alderney

The doors are so flimsy I think in a panic I could kick my way through

CO-detector - I remember the pilot talking about this during my first ever flight (Lydd Airport) - "If that goes black then we are dead" - reassuring I'm sure.

Sunny over the island

On the ground in Alderney - its a Trislander

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderney

Gannets

They seek him here they seek him there, is he in heaven or is he in hell - that damned elusive...
Anagallis Arvensis

Monday lunchtime during the school hols - and the teenage beauties are engaged in making one cafe latte last as long as possible.

This cafe seems to be the entertainment and social centre for the island's female youth - perfectly placed half way round my perimeter walk - I can't remember what I had for lunch but the big mug of tea was most welcome.

This is where the male youth spend their free time - and blasting round the lanes on noisy scooters

 There is a stunning amount of traffic on Alderney - considering that you can walk anywhere at all from the centre in about 20 minutes.

View of over to France - there is an oil refinery/chemical works - hence the brown smudge

 When on Alderney be careful which service your phone connects to - its perfectly possible to get a signal from/to France

View out of a German Bunker/Observation Point - part of the Atlantic Wall

 There is still lots of (mostly concrete) evidence of the occupation on Alderney - mostly now used for Bunker Parties

I am sure I took some more photos - in the end I did not have time to get to the East end of the island.

Its a dinky little airport - and between flights - very quiet

I had a nice meal and a cup of tea (with Mr and Mrs Security) - when the plane landed it all went secure, the passengers were processed and boarding took about 3 minutes

No such a good seat this time

Main runway

Oops - still cloudy over Guernsey

So we went round and round in circles for a while - that is Herm below

Nice Plane! This one took me to Jersey

Herm-

Herm and Herm its not very big - its between Guernsey and Sark and it is nothing like either

Guernsey Folk come over on Saturday for 'beach time'

Alderney on the horizon - that's for tomorrow

I recognize that arse...

Its another Gormley - escaped from Crosby for its summer hols

Lots of interesting plants in the Dune Slacks - I thought it was Sea Beet but now I am not so sure

Well it is certainly in the Rose family, my money is on Burnet Rose

Easy - this is Sea Holly

A lovely beach - lots of families having fun

View towards Jethou

It was a bit hot and having walked nearly twice round the island I had a bit of a sleep in a shady neolithic chamber tomb - until awoken by curious children - this wall is NOT part of the tomb

Time to go home

The Herm Ensign

Sark and a very strange place

I'm off to Sark - but not in the Barclay Brothers Navy

Brecqhou with Guernsey and Herm in the background

The palace on Brecqhou

A couple of days later I met the heath visitor/midwife for Brecqhou - its a very strange place indeed - shhh you don't know who's reading.

"They are connected by a narrow isthmus called La Coupée which is 300 feet (91 m) long and has a drop of 330 feet (100 m) on each side.^[2] Protective railings were erected in 1900; before then, children would crawl across on their hands and knees to avoid being blown over the edge. There is a narrow concrete road covering the entirety of the isthmus, built in 1945 by German prisoners of war under the direction of the Royal Engineers."

There are no cars on Sark (as they keep on reminding you) but just before and after ferry time it becomes...

....Tractor Armageddon

A pack of tractor-trailers await overnighting (or unfit) tourists off the boat and then for 30 minutes charge all over the island dropping off luggage (and unfit tourists).

Nice Apples - "Windfall please help yourself"

It was island fete day for the school and the medical fund - there seems to be a sheep theme here

Methinks they have been sampling as well as selling

the very nice Pimms

It was a magic day on Sark - I am not going to get a better visit but you might

Yes - it is sheep racing

Llŷn Sheep - spirited but not at naughty as Cluns

The farmer tells me that the soil and climate in Sark are similar to the Llŷn and the sheep do very well.

That evening in the hotel I saw that I had made it on to Channel Islands TV

Time to go home

Brill - locally caught, Italian owner, Portuguese Waiter and Polish Chef - the Brill was Brill

It was a magic day on Sark - I am not going to get a better visit but you might