MOULIN HUET BAY

The French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir visited Guernsey in 1883, and while there he became so captivated by the bay at Moulin Huet that he produced a series of paintings of this beauty spot on the Guernsey coast. An example of his work can be seen at the National Gallery. The lovely sand gracing this beach is best enjoyed at low tide when there is more of it to go around. An 1837 issue of “The Guernsey and Jersey Magazine” includes an ode to this place, which begins:

Moulin Huet Vale is dark and steep
Moulin Huet Bay is broad and deep
In crystal blue its waters sleep
And through the glassy tide
The finny tribes of ocean glide
And sea-birds o’er its surface sweep

Map of Guernsey.

Moulin Huet Bay, Guernsey - geograph.ci - 112. Photo by John Rostron, via Wikimedia Commons.

PERELLE BAY/LIHOU ISLAND

Perelle Bay is a rocky bay on one of the most rugged parts of the Guernsey coast. It is home to a clutch of megalithic remains, such as Le Trepied Passage Grave at Le Catioroc and Le Creux es Faies Dolmen on the road to L’Eree promontory. Lihou is a small island connected to Guernsey by a stone causeway. There is a priory on the island believed to have been established in the 12th century by Benedictine monks. The local people were very wary of the monks, believing them to indulge in devil worship. In most cases this was patently unjustified, but there was one particular prior known as The Wicked Prior of Lihou who was rumoured to be in league with the devil, and who had an unhealthy interest in magic and what were referred to as The Black Books. However, legend has it that the prior was effectively destroyed by his own spells when a servant accompanying him on a visit to a nearby parish whose priest was also engaged in the Black Arts ignored the prior’s instructions not to read a book of spells the servant was carrying for him. The servant managed to cast a spell from the book which caused the sea to engulf the prior as he was crossing to the island along the causeway. There is a house on the island which was used by the Germans during the Occupation for target practice, but which is now used for accommodating school groups on educational visits.

Map of Guernsey.

Lihou Island and causeway - geograph.ci - 28. Photo by David P Howard, via Wikimedia Commons.

L'ANCRESSE/PEMBROKE BAY

One of the biggest bays on Guernsey, L’Ancresse, also known as Pembroke Bay, is a magnet for watersports enthusiasts such as windsurfers, surfers and sea kayakers. It also boasts a golf course, for more land-loving sports enthusiasts. Pembroke Bay was the venue for an unusual record-breaking event in 2008, when nearly 2,000 islanders turned up with teddy bears of all shapes and sizes to form a human/teddy bear chain, breaking the previous record of 631.

During the turbulent, war-torn years of the 1700s a series of defensive structures such as martello towers were erected on Guernsey, and there are a number of 18th century towers dotted around this area, providing a defence against large troop landings. Another fortification in Pembroke Bay is Star Fort, a star-shaped earthwork defence. Just around the coast from this location is a much older site of interest, Les Fouaillages, the metalithic site of what is thought to have been a monumental tomb, in a place where human activity of one kind or another is believed to date back to 8,000 years ago.

Map of the area.

L'Ancresse Bay - geograph.ci - 25. Photo by Jonathan Wilkins, via Wikimedia Commons.

ST PETER PORT, GUERNSEY

St Peter Port, the main town of Guernsey, has an appealing town centre, made all the jollier by the presence of some brightly coloured buildings in some of its main streets. The busy harbour is reached by the narrow ‘gunelles’ or alleys which lead down to it. Cornet Rock, reachable by a breakwater and bridge, has been the site of a succession of castles, the first having been begun in the 13th century. The present-day castle is open to visitors and houses a number of museums, including a Maritime Museum and a Militia Museum. Another attraction for visitors is Hauteville House, which was occupied by Victor Hugo following his exile from France in 1851. It was here that he wrote Les Miserables. He went first to Jersey, but settled in Guernsey after falling for the island. He is commemorated by a statue in Candle Gardens.

Like Jersey, Guernsey suffered a period of occupation during World War II. The island’s liberation took place on 8 May 1945, when an Allied task force headed by HMS Bulldog arrived off St Peter Port. Scenes from this event, including a march past by British troops in front of the British Hotel, can be viewed on the BBC “In Pictures” website. A few days after the liberation, the press reported on a “great convoy of mercy” as food and other supplies were brought to the island.

For events on the island through the year, see here.

Webcam view of the harbour from the Duke of Richmond Hotel.

Map of the area.

St Peter Port Guernsey. Photo by Alistair Young, via Wikimedia Commons.