Just back from a return to one of our favourite places, albeit the first visit for eleven years. Still remembered many of our previous visits, as the old haunts featured in the collages will hopefully demonstrate. First things first – just to get it out there, the Duke of Richmond hotel is the most expensive we’ve ever paid for a night’s stay (or, in this case, eleven nights). It was very pleasant and the food was exemplary. For a rate from which I’ve only just recovered however, there were a few minor niggles that we feel should not have been present in a hotel of this ‘standing’. But I’ll let these go for now and focus on the positives, of which there were many, just like on all previous visits to the Channel Islands.
Anyway, there was certainly nothing about the hotel that impacted on the stay and neither did the weather, which was mixed. We discovered, whenever the heat hit, that we are now of a disposition where the days of sun drenched heatwave holidays are no longer a desirable priority. After reappraising ourselves with St. Peter Port on the first day (a shortish but steepish walk from the hotel) we set off to the German Naval Signals HQ Museum, a small but lovely ‘below ground’ installation about which we knew nothing, except for a shaky recollection that it was linked with Bletchley Park. Not ground breaking but worth both the admission price and short walk. Then, using the GPS on the phone (oh yes..), we travailed our way to the first of the adventure golf courses close to the St. Pierre Hotel. The Pirate Bay Adventure Golf was well maintained and a fun course (we’re still kids at heart) and I won (more later). Pre and post golf refreshments were the order of the day as well as a recce of the hotel itself. Well, you never know, do you?
We also chose on this holiday to chill out a little more and so not every day was chock full of things to do. We meandered around the side streets encircling the hotel and came across more than a few photo opportunities. Of specific note was the Candie Cemetery, which apparently was still referred to as the “New Cemetery” in the late nineteenth century. There are five war graves in Candie Cemetery; all five soldiers died after the end of WW1. Then on to the Victoria Tower, erected in honour of a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to the island in 1846. In the small attached gardens, there are two 13.5 cm K 09 German guns, which were buried as the Second World War approached in 1940, so that the invading German forces would think the island was not fortified. The two German guns that were buried were excavated in 1978 and are back on display in the garden. Too much detail maybe, but an interesting insight to the minutia of war(s). The walk also included vistas of Castle Cornet, Herm and Sark, as well as the Candie Gardens we walked through to get to and from St. Peter Port.
Another museum day saw us start with a short walk to the Guernsey Museum in Candie Gardens. It houses permanent exhibitions showing the Archaeology of Guernsey, Treasures from around the world held in the collection, the Folklore of Guernsey and the Rona Cole Gallery showing 200 works of art displayed ingeniously using pull-out drawers to make the best use of a small space. Again, kudos to the curators, who have created a simple but clever structure, where the aim is obviously to entertain as well as inform. It did both and, as I said earlier, maybe we are regressing, but it makes a change from the stuffy, formal presentations with which we are familiar. A quick coffee in the adjoining Café Victoria and then on to view the Guernsey Tapestry, which illustrates 1,000 years of local history in ten panels of embroidered canvas work, each panel covering one century. The project provides a lasting reminder of the Millennium celebrations and it involved the whole community and encourages people to look more deeply in to the Island’s history (says the blurb). The panels were stitched by the residents of the Bailiwick with each one bearing the crest of the parish that stitched it. The story in each panel is brought to life by an audio guide which is available in English, French, German and Dutch. The Whittaker Gallery in St James provides a permanent home for the Tapestry where it is preserved and displayed for the enjoyment of all.
Finally, we went out to Saumarez Park to have a look at the National Trust of Guernsey Folk and Costume Museum, a small but free museum dedicated to Guernsey people over the past 250 years is told through displays of trades, transport, fashions and items from daily life. The website says it houses ‘Elegant Georgians’ – an outstanding exhibition of the finest 18th century fashions – which was displayed on the first floor. ‘A League of Gentlemen’ is on the ground floor with artefacts and garments pertaining to stories of sheer grit, patriotism and bravery by Island men. It did indeed do the job and you can also explore Guernsey’s traditional industries and social history showcased in meticulously restored farm buildings around the courtyard, which are also of interest. There was a café in the grounds, so naturally after a saunter around the park itself, we took the opportunity to imbibe. It looked like a throw back to my own childhood but the coffee was surprisingly good, along with crisps from an indeterminate source, which is always a plus!! Yep, I’m definitely getting increasingly small minded. I’ll be reviving Jubilee Ice Pyramids next!
Although we deliberately didn’t try to repeat any of our previous visits (no Castle Cornet, Herm / Sark etc.) we obviously wanted to spend a little time on the coast so we did end up combining the walking with a visit to the occasional haunt of yesteryear. So we got the bus (£1.50 no matter the journey length) to Vazon Bay and walked along the coast up to Cobo Bay (and the Cobo Bay Hotel itself). We had indeed forgotten that this short stretch of coastline has both significant, quite dangerous rocky outcrops and gorgeous beaches within a mile or so of each other. And along the walk we revisited Fort Hommet, as well as the aforementioned hotel we actually stayed at in 2012! Fort Hommet (or Fort Houmet) is a fortification on Vazon Bay headland (or houmet in Guernésiais) in Castel. It is built on the site of fortifications that date back to 1680 and consists of a Martello tower from 1804, later additions during the Victorian Era, and bunkers and casemates that the Germans constructed during World War II. Plenty of this type of fortifications around the island, bit of a mecca for the war historians among you. The hotel itself looked broadly the same as when we stayed, as did the Rockmount pub next door at which I finally indulged in a genuine local Guernsey pint from the Randall brewery. Also got a photo of Hauteville House, home of the exiled Victor Hugo, although there was no real reason to venture inside, having gone there first in 2010 – a revisit after only fourteen years? That would be a bit previous, don’t you think!!
We must not of course forget our second foray into the world of adventure golf at Oatlands Village. The latter has the historic brick-kilns and thatched barns that tell the amazing story of the ‘two islands of Guernsey’ and you can enjoy the ten shops and restaurants, the 18 hole mini-golf course and the play barn – the home of the much-loved iconic Trislander G-JOEY. The ‘iconic Joey’ may of course not be known to you, but it was Aurigny Airlines aircraft of choice for inter island travel until around 2015. Anyway, professional as ever, we of course majored on the mini golf, a tranquil yet challenging 18 hole landscaped mini golf course. Actually that was the ‘adventure’ course, there was also a more traditional ‘crazy golf’ course built into like an inner circle of the main course. You could play both for a special price so, naturally, we did. I may have won the crazy but I was well and truly trounced (with bent putter head no less) by Mrs. No Name on the main course. Good restaurant and excellent Guernsey ice cream completed the trip. We then spent a day at L’Ancresse and Pembroke Bay, which were both as popular and beautiful as we remembered them. By this time I had what I thought was a stinker of a cold but it didn’t detract from the day out, or the lovely lunch at the Beach House.
And finally, as a kind of catch all, we also of course got caught up in the Royal visit (I don’t know who told Charles we would be there but it was terribly decent of him to travel directly past our hotel on his way to Les Cotils). Placed opposite Cambridge Park, took in a hot dog whilst waiting for the procession. Also popped in to the Old Government House hotel (Duke of Richmond’s ‘sister’ hotel) for a drink and snack. Different vibe, closer to town, but the Duke’s got its own sense of style and, despite its foibles, we enjoyed our stay. Oh, forgot to mention the jazz concert on the Friday evening for which we got a couple of last minute tickets where we saw Christ-Stéphane Boizi, a jazz trombonist and Tomorrow’s Warriors alumni, along with his own band. Based at the St. James Concert Hall, the whole evening had me in mind of Ronnie Scott’s (despite never having been there).
We also took a trip back in time to our very first visit to the island and walked over to the Hotel de Havelet, where we reminisced on the same patio as before, cocktails in hand. One was seriously alcoholic, one not so. Two drinks, two people, your choice!
Not much more to say – Guernsey continues to delight, the weather was more than adequate for two oldies and there’s more than enough to fill your days, whether you’re a beach lover, history buff or serious hiker. If I were eighteen again, then maybe not!! And finally, Christ-Stéphane Boizi and the band stayed at our hotel on the first Friday night, as did Dara O’Brien on our last night before returning home. Well, it wouldn’t be a holiday without a bit of star spotting now would it! As for that pesky cold I mentioned earlier. Got back home, took a test on the Monday morning, tested positive for Covid. Oh well 🙂 .