Day 7 East Jersey
Our final full day in Jersey was again very warm and sunny. We drove up to Bouley Bay in North East Jersey and then visited various places along the East coast.
There were the usual swimmers in Bouley Bay as there were in every other bay that we visited. High on a hill above the bay is the Leicester Battery which went on to become a Fort and is now a holiday cottage. It was named after the Earl of Leicester who was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. We could see a long line of rocks way out to sea which are Les Ecrehous, about 6 miles off shore and are an important source of seaweed. Behind them we could see the coast of France.
We then moved on to Rozel, a very picturesque village on the North East Corner of the island. When I was about 7 or 8 a schoolfriend went to Jersey on holiday and sent me a card of this village. The picture was metallic and it looked lovely then and probably hasn’t changed much since. I kept the card for many years but don’t know what happened to it.
We then moved down to St Catherines Breakwater. We nearly gave up as it was really difficult to follow the map but were glad we persevered. The Breakwater is about ½ mile long. We walked part way and had good views of neighbouring Becal Cove to the south and Fliquet Bay to the north. We saw signs to a Sunday outdoor market and sandcastle so went to have a look. A man fishing said we should take a look at the sandcastle as it was made at the beginning of the season by a very talented local man (which turned out to be himself). It was quite an incredible sight. He came over with us and explained how he had done it. He said we would be knocking it down at the end of the month and starting another design – his winter project. As we were leaving 2 coach tours turned up and quite a few people came in. The neighbouring fish farm was recycling an old German bunker but was closed so we couldnt see inside.
We drove the short distance down the coast to Archirondel where there were again superb views and the Archirondel Tower which is now a holiday rental. There were fewer rocks her but the beach was all shingle. People were swimming so I went to the waters edge to see what the temperature felt like and was surprised to find it seemed to be quite warm.
Gorey was our next stop, and one of the larger villages on the island. Another very pretty village with very few shops but plenty of cafes and restaurants. Mont Orguell Castle (also known as Gorey Castle) dominates the village from high on the cliff top. It was the main point of defence for the island before Elizabeth Castle was built.
We then moved inland a bit, to Queen’s Valley Reservoir. We had our lunch while watching the ducks and geese on the northern edge. Paul wanted to sleep so I walked around the reservoir which was about 1.5 miles. Most was through woodland.
Penultimate visit of the day was to Rocque Point on the South Eastern tip of Jersey. The beach and coastline here is covered in large rocks. There were several boats in the harbour but at high tide there was only one way through the rocks so the pilots must have really detailed knowledge of them. About a mile out was Seymour Tower which can be reached at low tide. As it is easy to get trapped there by the rising tide, they have put a rescue tower in where anyone caught out by the tide can wait in safety until the tide recedes.
Lastly we visited Green Island. According to the guidebook, this is the most southerly part of the British Isles. It can only be reached at low tide (which it was) so we walked across the very stoney beach and up the rocks onto the grassy surface at the top of the island. It was nice as we were the only ones up there. We had now completely circumnavigated Jersey so made our way back to the car and back to the hotel.
We did most of our packing ready to move on to Guernsey the following day then went down to the Italian restaurant where we ate on Saturday and had another lovely meal there.
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