Accommodation
Travel to Alderney, Sark and Herm
Walk 1 St Peter Port Town Trail
Walk 2 St Peter Port and Fermain Bay
Walk 3 Fermain and Jerbourg Point
Walk 4 La Fosse and Icart Point
Walk 5 Le Bourg and Pointe de La Moye
Walk 6 La Prévôte and Torteval
Walk 7 Portelet Harbour and Pleinmont
Walk 8 Rocquaine Bay and Lihou Island
Walk 9 Perelle Bay and St Saviour
Walk 10 Vazon Bay and Cobo Bay
Walk 11 Cobo Bay and Saumarez Park
Walk 12 Portinfer and L’Islet
Walk 13 L’Ancresse and Vale
Walk 14 St Sampson and Belle Grève Bay
Walk 15 Beau Sejour and Le Friquet
Walk 16 St Martin and La Villette
Walk 17 St Andrew and Castel
Walk 18 King’s Mills and Fauxquets
Walk 19 Rocquaine Bay and Quanteraine
Walk 20 Guernsey Coastal Walk
Walk 21 Alderney – East
Walk 22 Alderney – West
Walk 23 Sark – South
Walk 24 Sark – North
Walk 25 Herm
APPENDIX A The Channel Island Way
APPENDIX B Route summary table
APPENDIX C Contacts
Attractively rugged rocks are seen while walking round the Hommet headland (Walk 10)
INTRODUCTION
‘Morceaux de France tombés à la mer et ramassés par l’Angleterre.’ ‘Pieces of France fallen into the sea and picked up by England.’
Victor Hugo
Small and often very busy, but also beautiful and abounding in interest, the Channel Islands are an intriguing walking destination. The self-governing ‘bailiwicks’ of Guernsey and Jersey owe their allegiance to the Crown and seem outwardly British, but are in fact an ancient remnant of the Duchy of Normandy, with Norman–French place-names very much in evidence. For British visitors, it is like being at home and abroad at the same time. French visitors, however, find it a quintessentially British experience!
Walkers will find magnificent cliff and coastal paths, golden sandy beaches, wooded valleys and quiet country lanes. Flowers will be noticed everywhere and there is a rich birdlife. There are castles, churches, ancient monuments and fortifications to visit, as well as a host of other attractions. There are efficient and frequent bus services, and easy onward links by air and sea between the islands. This guidebook describes 24 one-day walking routes, covering a total distance around 225km (140 miles), plus a long-distance coastal walk around the island of Guernsey, almost 65km (40 miles). There is also a note about the Channel Island Way, a long-distance island-hopping route embracing the entire archipelago, covering 178km (110 miles) (see Appendix A).
Location
The Channel Islands lie south of Britain, but not everyone immediately appreciates how close they are to France. The islands fit snugly into a box bounded by lines of longitude 2°W and 3°W, and lines of latitude 49°N and 50°N. This puts them well and truly in the Golfe de St Malo off the Normandy coast of France, The French refer to them as Les Îles Anglo-Normandes, and that is the clue to their curious place in geography and history. They are
