a little milder than the weather you would expect in the south of England. There are no hills and walkers rarely find themselves much above 100m (330ft) above sea level. The most basic walking gear will suffice, with comfortable footwear, clothing to suit hot and cool conditions, including sun protection for sunny days and waterproofs in case of rain. It is increasingly common to see heavily booted walkers with poles and packs trudging round the island, but Guernsey is a gentle landscape, and even if foul weather were to interfere with a walk, it is very easy to cut walks short, bail out by bus and retreat to your lodgings.
Waymarking and access
Guernsey is intensively cultivated, with large areas given over to tillage and greenhouses, while most pastures are grazed by Guernsey cows. Around 60,000 people live on the island, the road network is remarkably dense and car ownership is very high. Add to this the huge number of visitors, and it is a wonder there is room to breathe, let alone walk. However, there are plenty of paths, tracks and quiet roads available for walkers, and while signposts and waymarks are few, routes freely available to the public are usually quite obvious. The best maps of Guernsey show many of these routes, but by no means all of them. By contrast, paths, tracks and roads that are private are usually clearly marked as such. In practical terms, with this guidebook to hand, Guernsey can be explored thoroughly using the available access.
Prominent stone markers often indicate where paths are leading, especially around the coast
Special mention needs to be made of the inter-tidal zone. Guernsey has one of the biggest tidal ranges in the world, up to 12m (40ft) at spring tides. The sight of sandy beaches and jagged rocks emerging from the sea as the tide recedes encourages many people to explore to the water’s edge, and to a certain extent this is to be encouraged, but it must be done with caution. Obtain a copy of the tide times and study them carefully. Walking out as the tide recedes is unlikely to be a problem, but when the tide is advancing it is possible to be cut off before realising it. Trying to get from beach to beach around the foot of cliffs can be dangerous and can lead to an inconvenient stranding, or death by drowning. In short, do not wander around the inter-tidal zone without having a clearly visible route back to dry land.
Maps
The maps in this guidebook are extracted from the 1:15,000 States of Guernsey map. This is rather different from the Ordnance Survey maps used by most walkers in Britain. In fact, the map was originally compiled by the Military Survey at 1:25,000, but this is now out of print. New and updated digital mapping has been produced by Digimap at 1:15,000, www.digimap.gg, for the States of Guernsey. This is the most detailed map of the island, showing everything down to field boundaries and even the back gardens of houses in towns and villages. The walking routes in this guidebook are shown as a highlighted overlay on this 1:15,000 map. Sketch maps of Alderney, Sark and Herm show the walking routes on the small islands.
There are plenty of other maps of Guernsey, mostly published by Perry’s. These include free maps suitable for general touring, which often highlight attractions so boldly that they obscure other details in the vicinity. By all means amass a collection of free maps, picking them up from the tourist information centre or from hotels and visitor attractions around the island.
Getting around Guernsey
By car
Cars can be taken on the Condor ferries to Guernsey, and it is possible to hire cars on Guernsey, either pre-booked or on arrival. Guernsey cars carry only numbers on their registration plates, but hire cars are stamped with a prominent ‘H’ for ‘hire’, or according to local drivers, ‘horror’, because of the way they perceive the driving skills of visitors! Guernsey’s roads are narrow and the maximum speed limit is 35mph, dropping to 15mph on ruettes tranquilles. Roads can be very congested, especially at peak times around St Peter Port, and parking is very limited in some areas. The bottom line is, you won’t be going anywhere fast!
A designated ruette tranquille gives priority to walkers and cyclists and has a 15mph speed limit.
A car is essential if you choose accommodation away from a regular bus route, but if you are based in St Peter Port, or on a regular bus route, then it is best to use buses to travel round the island. Drivers who do not understand the ‘filter in turn’ rule that applies in Guernsey should think twice before driving there.
By bus
Guernsey has an excellent bus network provided by CT Plus – possibly one of the best networks in the entire world! It is worth visiting the kiosk at the town terminus for timetables and information about tickets at the earliest opportunity. All the routes on Guernsey in this guidebook were researched using buses, and the author heartily recommends this mode of travel. The timetables come in summer and winter versions, although there are only minor differences between them.
The bus routes are numbered and generally fan outwards from St Peter Port, running from early until late. They reach various far‐flung parts of Guernsey, where they turn round and come back to town. Some bus routes run in clockwise and anti‐clockwise circuits, with different numbers. For instance, the ‘Guernsey Vaeux’ route 91 runs clockwise around the coast of Guernsey, while route 92 runs anti‐clockwise, and both are exceedingly popular. Almost all bus routes touch the coast at some point, and have sections that overlap or run concurrent with other routes. St George’s Esplanade, running north from St Peter Port, features several bus routes.
Flat‐fare tickets can be bought on the bus for single journeys, and transfer tickets are available if another service needs to be used. Bus passes can be bought, offering unlimited travel for one, two or seven days, for individuals or family groups. A ‘Puffin Pass’ can be topped up with multiple journeys, and the more journeys that are added, the cheaper each journey becomes.
Full details of all bus services on Guernsey, including timetables, an online Journey Planner, and fare information, are available at www.buses.gg. Telephone enquiries can be made on 01481 700456. Bus stops are available in both urban and rural locations. In rural locations, it is possible to stop a bus almost anywhere that’s safe for the driver to stop, but in urban locations, bus stops must be used. Live bus times can be checked on mobile devices.
Travel to Alderney, Sark and Herm
The small islands of Alderney, Sark and Herm are usually reached from Guernsey. Bumblebee Boat Cruises, www.bumblebee.gg, operate between Guernsey and Alderney, while Manche Îles Express, www.manche-iles-express.com, serves Alderney from Diélette in France, and serves Sark from Jersey. Flights between Guernsey and Alderney are operated by Aurigny, www.aurigny.com. Ferries from Guernsey to Sark are provided by the Isle of Sark Shipping Company, tel 01481 724059, www.sarkshippingcompany.com. Ferries from Guernsey to Herm are provided by Travel Trident, tel 01481 721379, www.traveltrident.com.
Alderney, Sark and Herm do not have bus services. There are tour buses and taxis on Alderney, while Sark has a limited tractor and trailer service, along with horse-drawn carriages. On Herm visitors are expected to walk everywhere, but the island is tiny and all who visit the place expect to walk.
Guernsey probably has one of the
