Sunday 4 March 2007

HERM - Channel Islands


29/08/06
Travelling with Condor Ferries from Weymouth to Guernsey / Jersey makes a great day trip. We had risen early to make the most of the day light hours and had charged down to Weymouth with the bicycles on the carrier, bound for a lap of Guernsey. When we arrived, I discovered that my front tyre had melted all over the rim and was totally deflated, cracked, burnt and useless. It had touched the exhaust more than once by the look of it...

Not to be defeated, the cycles were loaded in to the car with the back seat dropped forward and we boarded the ferry as foot passengers. The new plan was to visit Herm via St Peterport, the main town of Guernsey.

On our arrival, we had time to kill so strolled into St Peterport to find a cafe. An hour later, we boarded the Herm Travel Trident. Only 20 minutes later, we were stepping ashore. Herm is a tiny island paradise, measuring only half a mile wide by a mile and a half long. We followed the beautiful coast path around the island, anticlockwise. The western end of the island is steep rocky cliffs, changing to wide sandy beaches as we walked east. We admired pleasure boats anchored in Belvoir Bay, where we sat and drank probably the most expensive glass of Coke ever. On the far eastern tip, we watched a kestrel soaring at close range before sitting on the rocks to eat our lunch. After, we climbed the highest point on the island (not very) Le Grand Monceau. Finishing the loop, we were back in the tiny hamlet where the few permanent residents live. Atop the hill, we peered around the tiny St Tugual's Chapel, before stopping in the island's hotel for a beer or two.

We left the island, certain that we would return. It truly was gorgeous. We ate in St Peterport before catching the fast-cat back to Weymouth. A great day out after the morning's disaster.

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