Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
JERSEY. CURIOUSLY BRIT... (ISH)
Be surprised by Jersey this spring and summer on a culturally enriching travel experience that will make you feel a million miles from home
You may be able to reach the warmest part of the British Isles from mainland UK in under one hour, but despite its familiarities, Jersey feels slightly exotic. From beaches lapped by turquoise waters and sun-dappled vineyards to gentle French lanes, you’ll feel closer to the Mediterranean than the Mersey. Here’s what to expect from this Brit…(ish) isle…
Go on a journey through time
Peel back the layers of Jersey’s captivating past at La Hougue Bie Museum. The name comes from the Old Norse word for mound, as the site is home to medieval chapels sitting on a hillock. A Neolithic passage runs beneath the mound, opening into a dolmen used for ceremonies over 5,000 years ago. Staggeringly, it was built more than a thousand years before Egypt’s pyramids and is the 10th oldest building in the world. Jersey Museum & Art Gallery also offers a fascinating insight into the island’s past, from the Ice Age – when Jersey wasn’t an island but was part of mainland France – right up to the vibrant island that it is today. Highlights include the gas-lit Victorian house and hearing Jèrriais (Jersey French).
Sandwiched between France and Britain, both countries have fought over beautiful Jersey. Discover the island’s ties with Europe at Mont Orgueil, a wellpreserved medieval castle on the east coast, where you can enjoy panoramic views stretching as far as Normandy from its tower.
Like France, Germany also wanted to control Jersey, and they succeeded during the Second World War. Discover what life was like during the occupation at the Jersey War Tunnels, where you can explore 1,000m of the network built by prisoners that now houses a unique exhibition about the period. Local guide Philip Marett’s grandparents lived on the island during the occupation, making him the ideal person to tour the bunkers and forts with while listening to his family stories of the war years. Explore the island independently, by downloading the Geotourist’s self-guided Liberation Route tour to hear inspiring stories of resistance, find liberation landmarks and learn about Liberation Day on 9 May when Germany surrendered.
Hit the trails
Craving an adventure this spring or summer? A bike ride through Jersey’s unspoilt landscapes while feeling the wind in your hair is bound to whet your appetite. A network of signposted country roads known as Green Lanes criss-cross the nature-filled island. Loop Jersey in six hours, on the 64km trail that starts at Liberation Square in St. Helier and passes St. Aubin’s Harbour and La Corbière Lighthouse, and meanders through the pristine Les Mielles Nature Reserve on the west coast before continuing to Greve de Lecq beach and charming Gorey village. The route is a steep one, so consider
hiring an Evie electric bike to make cycling those hills a breeze.
Hikers will be delighted at Jersey’s national park on the west coast. Spread over 2,145 hectares, the vast natural area was only formed in 2011 after 7,000 islanders formed a human chain to protect it two years before. To find out more, download a podcast from Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Google and do a self-guided walk along gorse and heather-covered clifftops. Look out for red squirrels, lizards and shorttoed treecreepers.
Jersey has one of the world’s largest tidal ranges, and at low tide, it grows to almost double the size. When the tide is out and the sun has set, Jersey Walk Adventures host spectacular bioluminescence walks on the seabed so you can stroll through Caulleriella bioculata – worms that glow like fireflies. Gorge on gourmet food Jersey is a true natural larder, bursting with gastronomic experiences to make even the most seasoned foodie traveller’s mouth water. Limit your food miles with locally sourced seafood cooked in Jersey garlic butter at a Faulkner Fisheries’ barbecue in L’étacq. Cook foraged ingredients such as fungi and seaweed on a campfire on the beach around St. Ouen with Kazz Padidar from Wild Adventures. And don’t miss a Wild Edgewalker
Nature Wander to forage for herbs to make tea during ‘forest bathing’ sessions – the Japanese meditative practice of strolling through woods.
Back in town, make like a local and browse produce such as lobsters, oysters and Jersey Royal potatoes at the bustling 200-yearold Central Market and Beresford Street Market in St. Helier before visiting an old sail loft distillery with The Channel Islands Liquor Co.
La Mare Wine Estate in St. Mary, meanwhile offers relaxing guided tours of its vineyards, orchards, cognac distillery and kitchen, which produces chocolate and fudge. The tour includes a tasty gin and tonic as well as samples of wine and apple brandy cream liqueur.
When the evening comes, book a table at local favourite Salty Dog Bar & Bistro in St. Aubin to tuck into locally sourced shellfish, such as pan-seared hand-dived scallops. The two AA Rosette restaurant, Mark Jordan at the Beach, also serves seafood just up the road – another reminder that, in Jersey, you’re never far from the sea, a rich and diverse culture, and an experience that will make you feel so far from home.