C for a list of contacts that may be useful in planning your trip.
Who can go?
People who hold British or European Union passports or identity cards do not need visas to visit Guernsey. All air travellers must produce some form of photo-ID or they may be denied boarding. People who have obtained a visa to visit Britain can also visit Guernsey during the period for which their visa is valid. Dogs and other pets can be brought from Britain to Guernsey, subject to any conditions that might be imposed by ferry or flight operators. Usual practice applies to walking dogs in the countryside. Keep them under control, especially near livestock. Dogs may be barred from beaches during the summer months and anti-fouling laws are in place everywhere.
Flights
Direct flights to Guernsey operate from over a dozen British airports, as well as a couple of airports in France and Switzerland. Scheduled and charter flights are available. Scheduled flights are mostly operated by Aurigny, www.aurigny.com, Flybe, www.flybe.com, and Blue Islands, www.blueislands.com. Aurigny and Blue Islands also operate inter-island flights. Summer charter flights are offered by Guernsey Travel, www.guernseytravel.com. This is not an exhaustive list and choices are quite bewildering, so it takes time to sift and sort between the operators, schedules and prices, but with patience some extraordinarily good deals can be sourced.
Ferries
Ferries serve Guernsey from Britain and France. Ferries from Britain are operated by Condor, www.condorferries.co.uk, sailing from Weymouth, Poole and Portsmouth. Passengers can choose between fast and slow ships, with links to and from Jersey. Condor also serves Guernsey from St Malo in France. Other ferry services from France are operated by Manche Îles Express, www.manche-iles-express.com, sailing from Diélette, also offering links with Jersey and Alderney, as well as sailing between Jersey and Sark.
Tour operators
Package holidays to the Channel Islands can be arranged for any period from a weekend upwards, freeing you from the hassle of trying to co-ordinate ferries, flights, accommodation and meals. Prices are quite competitive and there are seasonal variations, so it pays to shop around for the best deals.
Castle Cornet has witnessed centuries of change at St Peter Port
When to go
Guernsey is suitable as a year-round destination and generally enjoys slightly milder weather than the south of England, but the weather is still highly variable and impossible to forecast accurately. Winters are mild, but there may be frosts and, very occasionally, snow. Very bad weather at any time of year can upset ferry schedules, while fog affects flights. The peak summer period can be very hot and busy, which may not suit those looking for peace and quiet. The shoulder seasons, spring and autumn, are generally ideal for walking, with bright, clear days and temperatures that are neither too high nor too low. In fact, these are the times of year that the Guernsey Walking Weeks are arranged, featuring plenty of guided walks led by local experts.
Accommodation
Guernsey offers every type of accommodation to suit every pocket, but over the past few years prices have risen as hotels have moved up-market. Choose an accommodation base carefully, thinking primarily about how you intend to organise your walks. If you are hiring a car, then any base anywhere on the island will be fine. If you intend using the bus services to travel to and from walks, then the best base would be somewhere central in St Peter Port, handy for the bus station. An annual accommodation guide is produced, which can be obtained by post from Visit Guernsey, or browsed online at www.visitguernsey.com.
Walking and cycling are popular, especially on the coast where there may be shared use paths
Health and safety
There are no nasty diseases on Guernsey or, at least, nothing you couldn’t contract at home. Domestic water supplies are fed from either reservoirs or underground sources, but there has been no desalination plant in operation for decades. Treated water is perfectly drinkable, but some people don’t like the taste and prefer to buy bottled water, which is quite expensive. There are no snakes and no stinging insects worse than wasps and honey-bees.
In case of a medical emergency, dial 999 (or the European emergency number 112) for an ambulance. In case of a non-emergency there are chemists, doctors, dentists and a hospital. At the time of writing (and this may change) there is no reciprocal health agreement between Guernsey and the United Kingdom, nor is there any point in carrying the European Health Insurance Card. If emergency treatment is required it will be provided, but in order to avoid charges it is necessary to carry appropriate insurance.
Food and drink
Guernsey has long prided itself on being intensively agricultural, although this is waning and farmers face an uncertain future. In the past, people would think of ‘Guernsey tomatoes’, when the island was famous for its tomato greenhouses, but production has become uneconomic and many greenhouses now lie derelict or have been demolished. Some greenhouses are now purely involved in the production of flowers. At one time, Guernsey was the world’s leading producer of marmalade!
The name ‘Guernsey’ also conjures images of contented brown-and-white cows giving rich, creamy milk for butter and ice-cream. Guernsey cows have a long pedigree, having apparently lived on the island for over 1000 years and have always been immensely important. Guernsey herds are admired and renowned and have been exported world-wide. They even have their own website, www.guernseycattle.com.
Naturally, Guernsey offers good seafood, but one of the greatest delicacies is unlikely to be savoured by visitors. The ‘ormer’, or abalone, is a marine mollusc that can only be gathered at certain times and there are plenty of restrictions in place to conserve the species. As a result it tends to be eaten primarily by Guernsey folk, with nothing left over for commercial restaurants.
One of the most notable staple Guernsey foodstuffs is a moist fruit loaf known as ‘Guernsey Gâche’, whose flavour allows it to be eaten with a range of sweet and savoury food. Of course, it goes very well spread with rich Guernsey butter and eaten with a slice of Guernsey cheese. When fresh fruit and vegetables are required, visitors are often surprised to find these for sale from unmanned stalls beside roads all over the island. The idea is to help yourself to home-grown produce and leave payment in an honesty box, although judging by some of the notices attached to the stalls, some people simply steal from them, raising a question mark over how long this mode of selling can endure.
Of course, Guernsey also imports plenty of food and drink, both British and international goods, from simple, low-priced products to expensive quality items. On the whole, expect things to cost a little more than in Britain, and bear in mind that most supermarkets and shops are in St Peter Port, and not every village has a shop. On the other hand, pubs, restaurants, cafés and snack kiosks are regularly encountered while walking round Guernsey, and places offering refreshments are mentioned in the route descriptions. Food offered ranges from basic snacks to haute cuisine, and as it is easy to get from place to place for food and drink, you need only be guided by your palate and spending limits.
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