Jersey Island

Archive for the ‘Jersey C I Coastline’ Category

This is “Bonne Nuit Harbour”  ( good night ) it is on the North Coast . On the west side is the Harbour and to the east is “La Crete Fort”. The boats that harbour here are mostly small fishing boats with other boats big enough to go across to France which you can see from the North coast of Jersey. La Crete Fort is one of the “Jersey Heritage” sites that you can stay in for a holiday. The two main places which people go to from Bonne Nuit in France are “Carteret” and “Portbail” and of course the “Ecrehous” lie between Jersey and France so they are visited on many occasions for a day out but having said that people go to France just for a day out. The French open markets are very good and interesting. There two other little harbours like Bonne Nuit going towards the east of the island around the coast which i shall be posting in the future. All along the North Coast is a footpath for ramblers with great views. In the photo below you can see La Crete Fort it is on the first piece of land that sticks out into the sea.

St. Aubins and village was once the capital of Jersey. Ships used to unload their cargoes but the harbour can only be used between half tide up and down. So a new bigger harbour was built at St. Helier. The Village is very picturque and has kept most of it’s old merchants houses. High Street is still a cobbled street. Along the Bulwarks are restaurants and shops with a pub or two. The Parish Hall used to be the Terminus Hotel for the railway but the sheds  burned down in the 30’s and the hotel was turned in the Parish Hall. Two of the most popular residents of the Village are two Geese which live in and around the harbour.Often sunbathing outside of the Parish Hall.

"High Street"

“St.Aubins Harbour”.

Ouaisne Bay is in the same bay as St. Brelade’s Bay only a small mount of rocks separate Ouaisne and St. Brelade’ Bay. There is a Martello Tower which was built for defence when England and France were at war. The tower is a navigation mark these days. The sea wall was built by slave labour by the Nazis. Behind the sea wall is a common which is the habitat of the Agile Frog which is only found in Jersey. To the right of the bay there are cliffs which there is a huge cave which prehistoric tools etc have been found. In the early 70’s Prince Charles helped to dig in the cave, they have enough material to study for at least the next  25 years, it is the best site in Europe. The beach is very safe for swimming and it is one of the beaches that gets drift wood on it. On the right hand end of the beach there is a very good example of a Nazis gun encasement for defending the beach from invasion if it had happened.

This is at the end of “Mourier Valley”. The Valley is situated on the North coast along by one of many coast walking paths that stretch right along the North Coast where the scenery is spectacular.  There is a reservoir at the bottom of the Valley that is used and the over flow forms a waterfall over into the sea. Where this photo was taken is that you have a choose of going left/right or go up the valley away from the cliff path and inland. There are some rare sheep roaming wild over big areas of land, this is because the type of sheep they have keep the bracket down so that the native plants will grow. They are inspecting a number of lambs in March. The particular sheep is very much at home on the steep cliffs. From any where on the North Coast you can see the other islands and France and also the Ecrehous. Some of the places along the paths you come across “Fulmars” which is a sea bird can easily be thought that it was a normal herring gull, there are some places that you can lie down just feet away from flying Fulmars as they drift along on the wind currants. Very rare do they land all to feed the chicks and to give the other parent a chance to have a stretch of their wings and also to having a go at catching some fish.

My boat “Ailes Silencieux” ( meaning “Silent Wings” after a Tina Turner song ) drying out in the Sambas. The Sambas is about half a mile straight out from Green Island Beach amongst the rocks. On the low tide ( must be 6ft or lower ) the sandbanks and rocks all come out and you are left with a large pool of water which is as clear as gin. It is safe to swim but not when the tide is flowing. BBQ on the sandbanks and rock pool exploring, lovely place for children to play and enjoy. It is very handy for the boat to dry out on the sandbank because you can clean the hull and outdrive. As you may just about see i am hard at work on the stern seat. It is hard to imagine being only a short distance from the shore and be in a completely different world, bit like being on the moon. If you know your way around the rocks etc you can water ski in a large sort of lagoon. It is also good for fishing around the passages through the rocks for bass. There is razorfish and queens also in the last few years oysters have appeared around the base of the Sambas Rock.

Beauport Bay.

“Beauport Bay” is on the south west corner of the island of Jersey. It is next to St. Brelade’s Bay which is the most popular beach on the island with tourists. Beauport is a safe beach good for swimming and it is very quiet. On the right hand side of the beach in the photo  amongst the trees is Nigel Mansell’s house the ex world F1 champion. In the trees at the end you can just see a chapel which is now used as a summer house. Just below the summer house there was a Gun Battery from the Napoleon Wars and it was converted by the German Army during the Occupation. The sun is on the beach all day and is sheltered from most winds. The photo shows the beach with the tide up.

This is “Greve De Lecq Beach on the north – west  of the Island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It ia a popular beach because the tide does not go out far but when the tide comes in caution needs to be taken of the strong under swell. There are Lifeguards on duty just in case. Good beach for surfing and the sand is ideal for making sand castles. There is rod  fishing off the breakwater wall and some fine fish have been caught there,including big bass. There are plenty of restaurants cafes etc all around the small bay. The North Cliff Path takes you around and past the beach with it’ picturesque views.