Channel Island Jersey, August 2012

St. Brelade's Bay

I spent a week hiking with a travel group on the Channel Island of Jersey; in August 2012. We were 22 women together and got on very well. What I read about Jersey before my holiday was that it's a sunny island with big tide differences and the best milk in the UK, produced by the famous Jersey cows :)
The island has got its own currency - the Jersey pound, to be used only on Jersey and the other Channel Islands, not in the rest of the UK. Based on the changing history,there are two languages, English and French. I heard both spoken a lot.

Jersey gave us a sunny welcome. Our hotel was located in the island's capital of St. Helier. We enjoyed half board with very delicious desserts - apple crumble and toffee pudding to name but a few.

First, we went around the town and tried the Jersey ice cream, which was made with the special milk. It was great!

St. Catherine's Wood

When we reached the beach, I noticed "Elizabeth Castle", which used to defend the town. You can walk there during low tide and during high tide you're taken over with an amphibious vehicle.

The next day we started hiking along the east coast from Rozel to Gorey. We passed St. Catherine's Wood, a really beautiful woodland with lots of ancient trees and wonderful plants.

Gorey Castle

Our destination was the little seaport Gorey. It's known for the Gorey Castle (in English) or Mont Orgueil Castle (in French), close to the sea. I was deeply impressed by the artistic portrayal of the castle's history. One artist made reference to the sea by decorating a wooden boat with maritime motifs such as fishes and shells.

Another artist had made life-size wooden figures in the castle park, representing the tradesmen, who had worked on the castle.

Gorey Castle

The portrayal of the former basement, where women were imprisoned and tortured as witches, really got under my skin. There was a lattice work with some little cranks. When I turned one of them, I heard an earsplitting squeaking and little figures of witches started to ride on their brooms or danced with the devil. This last piece of artwork gave me a sleepless night.

The second walk started from Portelet Bay in the South-West to St. Brelade's Bay in the West, along the coast most of the time. The sun shone the whole day. We enjoyed sea views nearly everywhere we walked so most of my holiday photos were taken on this walk. Furthermore, I must mention the little chapel of St. Brelade, where I felt a very special atmosphere.

St. Brelade's Bay

After our lunch, we went on to the lighthouse "La Corbière". It was low tide when we reached it, so we could stroll over by foot. I kept  the landscape of brown rocks in my mind because of how rare it is to see the bottom of the sea.

The fourth day was a free day. Some members of the group decided to go on a day trip to the neighbouring island Sark, and so did I. You will find a separate report about it in my blog.


Our next walk began in the North from Bouley Bay to Devil's Hole and a bit further on to Bonne Nuit Bay. We had a nice stop at the beach of Gref de Lecq, which is the only beach independent of the tide. The beach is really beautiful but too small for all of the visitors.

"La Corbière" lighthouse

During the second day off, I decided to visit "Samarez Manor", located outside the centre of St. Helier. The manor house looked like it was built in colonial times. Additionally, I spent some time walking in the pretty garden, including a huge herb garden.
Then I went on to the "Pallot Steam Museum" and admired lots of locomotives and cars from different eras. It was even more interesting to drive into the heart of the island. I enjoyed all our coastal walks, but this little trip showed me that the heart of the island had a special kind of charm with all the narrow streets, little cottages; and lovely gardens,the latter typically laid out like in the Engish countryside.

Samarez Manor

Our last walk led us from Bonne Nuit Bay to Rozel. It was the only rainy day. After the first short rain shower, fog started to rise slowly and made the nearby sea look mysterious. As Rozel was called a smuggler's paradise, there are lots of myths about the town. For instance: a huge black dog who frightens people at night. Of course, the smugglers invented this story because they intended to make people stay at home at night, in order to transport their goods without being seen.


After we reached Rozel in the afternoon, we found a hotel that offered cream tea. Together with two women of the group, I went there to have a sample. The small hotel looked like a miniature castle, which was elegantly furnished. It was the best cream tea ever.

Rozel Bay

My holiday ended here. I didn't have time to visit the following sights: "La Houghe Bie", Europe's largest chambered tomb, "Jersey Zoo", "Jersey War Tunnels", "The Maritime Museum" or the "Hamptonne Country Life Museum".

Channel Island Sark, August 2012

"La Seigneurie"

The garden of "La Seigneurie"

During the week of hiking on Jersey, I went on a day trip to Sark with 10 of the women from my hiking group.

Sark is free of cars. You can walk, cycle or use a carriage. With only 600 inhabitants, Sark is much smaller than Jersey and it is located closer to Guernsey.

A catamaran took us to the little island within an hour. It was a choppy crossing to Sark so I was very glad to get there when the boat docked.

Sark rewarded me with a wealth of flowers and plants I had never seen before. Shortly after our arrival, I noticed this wonderfully strong floral scent, It was overwhelming !

See the butterfly

We paid a short visit to St. Peter's Church, the only church on the island. We were told some history about it and learnt about the feudal system here.

"La Coupee"

We decided to walk to "La Seigneurie", the estate of Europe's last remaining feudal lord. The manor house is not open to the public but the garden is. It surpassed any garden and park I'd seen until that day because it was so beautifully laid out with a well, several benches to rest on and a maze.

After our lunch, we enjoyed a carriage trip to "La Coupée", a narrow isthmus, which links Great Sark and Little Sark. It's about 90 metres high and  horse drawn carriages are not allowed to cross with people in them.

Standing on "La Coupée" felt really great and revealed fantastic views of the sea. If it's clear enough, you can even see Guernsey on the right side.

Look to Guernsey

Close to the narrow isthmus, we found a chocolate factory with a café and decided to have "Cream Tea". We also tried some of the chocolates. They were incredibly good !!! I bought a little box in order to calm myself down, knowing I had to go on the catamaran again and that it wouldn't be a nice journey.

The way back

We walked back to the little harbour and passed by some beautiful little cottages and shops. The shops offered some extraordinary pretty dresses, scarves and wonderful watercolour paintings of the island.

I keep Sark in my mind as some kind of fairytale.

Newquay, Truro, Padstow, 2013

Newquay Harbour

Newquay was totally different from the places in Cornwall that I had previously visited. It's known as a surfer's paradise and it's definitely  true. There are several huge beaches and the highest waves of the UK can be found here. I really enjoyed walking on Tolcarne beach, at low tide, one morning, and for me, it was an ideal base to go to other nearby towns such as Truro and Padstow.

Truro Cathedral

One day, I went to Truro, which is the administrative centre of Cornwall. To begin with, I visited Truro Cathedral which totally overwhelmed me. I liked the Neo-Gothic style and the colourful Victorian windows. Furthermore, I was deeply impressed by the huge Father Willis organ, dated from 1887. During my visit, the male choir suddenly started their rehearsal for their evening concert, so I happily sat down and listened. The sound of the voices along with the accoustics sounded great. I left after an hour and walked through the streets, passing by many Georgian and Victorian houses. The cobblestones completed the pretty old scenery.

Truro Cathedral

The tourist office offer some unique souvenirs, for instance a Cornish Heart bag and Celtic bookmarks to name a few. Besides that, I bought "Tregothnan" tea, the only tea grown in England - lovely!

I even tried my first Cornish pasty in Truro, which was delicious !



If you would like to know more about Cornwall's history, I can recommend the "Royal Cornwall Museum".

The last day of my holiday, I decided to go to Padstow, a fishing village in North Cornwall. It was a sunny morning, and was supposed to be a bright, clear day. At the bus station in Newquay, I met a nice woman from Australia. I felt like I had already known her for ages :). While we were talking, we noticed we were both going to the same destination.

Padstow Harbour

Prideaux Place

After having arrived in Padstow, I recognized the harbour area was often featured in travel reports and films - it looked really charming. The streets and houses seemed well-maintained. We headed to Prideaux Place, one of the well-known manor houses of England that I had been hoping to see for the last 15 years When I stood in front of it, I just couldn't believe my eyes. The building was as beautiful as shown on TV or in pictures.

Garden of Prideaux Place

We took part in a guided tour and learnt more about the history of the Prideaux-Brune family. I felt like I'd never ever want to leave here. Afterwards, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Prideaux-Brune sitting in the café, which was close to the entrance. The tour guide introduced me to them and I was kindly allowed to take a photo with them. I'm really grateful to have seen this special place, as well as to have met its owners.

Back in the town centre, we enjoyed a little concert of a brass band that had started playing in the harbour area in our absence. Before we left, we tried some Cornish pasties and mine happened to be the best one of my holiday.

Falmouth & Trebah Garden, 2013

After my stay in Penzance, I went to Falmouth. Several buses go there every hour.

Gyllyngvase Beach

Falmouth has got the 3rd biggest natural deep-water harbour in the world. In 1688 Falmouth was made the Royal Mail packet station. Until 1850, all mail and goods were transported from here into the colonies, which is consequently why seedlings of sub-tropical plants were taken into the UK and now can be seen in gardens such as Trebah or Glendurgan.
Falmouth is the largest ship repair complex of the UK. You can feel the maritime flair thoughout in the entire town. If you are interested in the maritime history, why not visit the "National Maritime Museum".

Harbour

Besides that, Falmouth has its own university with a reputation of excellence in art, media, design, writing and perfomance.

Gyllyngvas Beach

It felt like 30 C with sunshine throughout the day, when I arrived. I walked to my guest house, which was close to Gyllyngvase beach. When I got there, I was offered coffee and cake in the garden with sea views. I thought this must be paradise :)

Garden of my guest house

A short time later, I decided to go to the beach and enjoyed the rest of the day there. I even got a suntan. It's a family friendly beach with a nice cafè nearby. If you walk eastwards, you can reach the beaches of Swanpool and Maenporth.

Trebah Garden

Besides the beach, I really liked the colourful Victorian facades of the shops in the atmospheric shopping area, located close to the harbour. A wide selection of shops offer special Cornish chocolate, marmelade, soap and some cosmetics.


There are two cafés I can really recommend. I tried Tapas at "Dolly's Café" which turned out to be one of the best in England.
Tip: If you like cake, you could try some at "Annie's Kitchen".

Trebah Garden

The next day I went to the garden of the gardens - ''Trebah Garden", which was most definitely  worth a visit. I spent 3 hours there, taking a long walk through a landscape of all kinds of trees and plants I had never seen before.

Trebah Garden

Trebah Garden

A big thank you to the tourist office staff, who were so kind and who  gave me a lot of brochures and maps of the town and the area.

St. Michael's Mount, 2013

The view from Marazion

The last day in Penzance started with a new face at my breakfast table - an English lady called Bonnie greeted me heartily. We began  talking immediately and soon found out that we both wanted to visit St. Michael's Mount. So why not go together ?

As it was a grey sky in the morning, we decided to take the bus to Marazion, which claims to be the oldest town in Britain, as well as the place to get to St. Michael's Mount.

The castle

In the 17th century, Marazion had been the trade centre of  Mount's Bay and was considered to be  more important than Penzance. It was also used as a location for films and this may be the reason for all the pretty facades of houses and shops.

After the Norman invasion, St. Michael's Mount was granted by Edward the Confessor to the Benedictines of Mont St. Michel in France, who then founded an abbey after their French model. Henry VIII changed it into a fortress. When the Civil War was over, it became the St. Aubyn's family property, who altered it into a castle. In 1954, the island was given to the National Trust.

The garden

If it is low tide you can walk over a constructed causeway, but during high tide, you will be taken to St. Michael's Mount by little boats.

When we reached Marazion it was high tide, so we were taken to the island by boat in only 5 minutes. Shortly after our arrival on the little island, I realized the temperature was higher and the scent of the trees and plants more intense than in Penzance.


Before we went up to the castle and former monastery, we discovered the two island shops. We had a look at one of them and found very special pictures of St. Michael's Mount on tea towels, pillows, coasters and glass art or other souvenirs like Cornish chocolate.

Picknick area

Then we climbed up steep hills to the castle, which was a bit smaller than I had expected, yet the rooms were very beautiful. I especially liked the Blue Drawing Rooms and the library.

After the visit, it brightened up so we went down again to have lunch in the garden of the little café.

In the afternoon, we started exploring the huge garden, which was beautifully laid out around the island.

Leaving 

The garden

We both wanted to walk back to Marazion, so we had to wait until low tide. We did some shopping in the second island shop and found some more souvenirs :)


Tip: Plan enough time for the island,perhaps a whole day like we did - it's absolutely worth it.

Minack Theatre, Porthcurno, 2013

The Minack Theatre has become a special place for me.

The stage

It is located in the southern part of West Cornwall, close to Porthcurno beach. It was a rainy day when I went there. I immediately noticed the very intense scent of the flowers in the garden, which was beautifully laid out above the theatre. I descended the stony steps very slowly, not only because it was wet but to take in the special atmosphere. Suddenly, it started to rain heavily, became very windy and the sky clouded over - the picture it created and atmosphere was very dramatic!

The rows

Some will think the open air theatre is a Roman legacy, but infact it was created by an extraordinary English lady, Rowena Cade (1893-1983) with only a few men helping her to build it.

She became interested in theatre at an early age and designed costumes for theatre plays in Derbyshire, where she grew up. After WWI and the death of her father, she bought a house at Minack Rock. When asked, she agreed to perform in her garden for them. Soon after, when the numbers of visitors began to increase, she decided to build a theatre within the rock below her house.

Look to Porthcurno beach

Shakespeare's "Tempest" was the 1st play to be performed in the Minack Theatre in 1932. 

The rows

Rowena Cade continued working for over 50 years and continued to extend the theatre more and more. She died shortly before her 90th birthday.

To me the stony theatre looked amazing. The rocks behind it, seemed as if they had fallen down from the sea. Porthcurno beach, on the left side of the theatre was huge, and the water gleamed in different shades of blue. Even though it was raining and windy, it was still rather mild.

Porthcurno Beach

I went around the whole theatre, step by step, and was deeply touched. How much love for theatre and for detail of architecture must Rowena Cade have had in her time, and what an unbreakable will to believe in herself to see it finished. An extraordinary woman. 

For about half an hour I stood near the top rows, facing Porthcurno beach, feeling the raindrops dancing on my face, listening to the sound of the sea. I got totally carried away. But before I got lost, I went to see a little exhibition about Rowena Cade. 

The garden

Besides all the various impressions, I found some exceptional Celtic jewellery in the shop and treated myself to something special ;)

St. Ives 2013

Harbour

If you go to Cornwall, St. Ives is one of the places you have to pay a visit. Even though it's very touristy, it has kept a certain kind of charm.

St. Ives is located in the northern part of West Cornwall and well known as the centre of art. When I arrived, one thing became immediately clear to me: the light is just as special as often described in travel reports - reflected by the water gleaming in all kinds of blues and greens.


When the sky changes, the blue and green shades of the water also change and the harbour and Porthmeor beach really look like a beautiful painting.

Tate Gallery

If you like modern art, the ''Tate Gallery" is a must-see. On the way to the ''Tate Gallery"I noticed a lot of pretty little cottages in narrow streets, which were painted in white, sandstone, light blue and pink. Since I went to St. Ives, I can understand why so many painters decided to live and work here.

Porthwidden beach

It wasn't the art in the Tate that I enjoyed most, but the fantastic view of Porthmeor beach from the café.





If you are interested in history, why not go to  the ''St. Ives Museum".

Back in the harbour area, there's one souvenir shop after another, all of which more or less offer wonderful paintings and prints of St. Ives. I can recommend a passage called "Harbour Galleries", with paintings of the "Blue Harbour Gallery", and glass art of Desiree Hope, a local artist. I bought one piece of her glass art - simply wonderful.

Before I left, I strolled along the coastline of Porthminster beach and took in the special atmosphere.

Porthmeor Beach

Porthminster beach

Porthminster beach

There are several more sandy beaches, if you walk eastwards, where you can enjoy picnics or swimming. Even though St.Ives is a place full of tourists, it has a light atmosphere so I would definitley like to return one day.