The Great Outdoors – July 2019

Rocquaine Bay. To the left was the electric
ultramarine blue of the sea, the tide
creeping in; and on our right, a handful of
houses with names like La Chaumère and
Le Côte Sauvage, some with gardens given
over entirely to Hottentot figs or thrift.
A quarter of the way up the bay is the
grandly imposing Fort Grey, a Napoleonic-
era Martello tower, which now houses the
island's Shipwreck Museum. The tower
was named after Earl Charles Grey, former
British Prime Minister and one-time
governor of Guernsey, and it gave me
great pleasure to discover later that it’s the
very same Earl Grey after whom the tea is
named. I wonder if this is why it’s known
locally as the “cup and saucer”?
Further north and, strictly speaking,
part of the same bay, L’Eree is one of the
longest stretches of sandy beach on the
island. This leads to privately owned Fort
Saumarez and the causeway to Lihou
island. No more than a tiny outcrop of
rock, Lihou was large enough, at least,
for the Benedictine monks to establish
a monastery in the 12th Century. It is
now home to a rich a variety of birdlife

• particularly important for nesting
  oystercatchers and ringed plovers – and has
  been established as a RAMSAR wetland
  site (a site designated to be of international
  importance under the Ramsar Convention
  on wetlands). It’s only accessible at low tide
  so it’s worth checking tide times when you
  plan your visit. We were, sadly, unlucky
  with the timings.
  Our feet were ready for a dip in the
  sea by the time we reached Vazon Bay. It’s
  an inviting sandy stretch, popular with
  sunseekers and beach lovers, plus there’s a
  small dedicated stretch at the northerly end
  just for surfers. Stand-up paddle-boarding
  is another popular pastime on the island
  and Guernsey SUP (guernseysup.com)
  operate here, as well as on other beaches
  around the island.  We didn’t stop, however,
  but continued to reach Cobô Bay, where we
  celebrated the end of our journey with an
  ice-cold dip in the sea.
  At the end of our walk, Izzy opted for a
  relaxing hour resting her muscles in the
  hotel spa, but I couldn’t resist a sunset stroll
  to Grande Rocque at the end of the bay. A
  dune path leads to a causeway stretching
  out to the austere concrete remains of the
  WWII defences. Here I found a spot on the
  rocks carved especially for me – or so it felt,
  just at that moment. The gorgeous evening
  light picked out the pinks, reds and peaches
  from the solid gneiss surrounding me, as I
  listened to the comforting breath of the
  waves.

[above] Hottentot figs and thrift in the foreground, looking across to one of Guernsey's

many Loophole Towers [below] The inviting waters of Vazon Bay

GUERNSEY

66 The Great Outdoors July 2019