Round and Round Jersey We Go

Unable to decide what part of Jersey to explore in-depth, we decided to join one of the round trips to get around the island and pick the best spots to revisit later. Starting in St Helier our first stop was Gorey where the weather was - let's say: very British. We didn't have a lot of time unfortunately and never made it (or back) to Mont Orgueil Castle. But the pier was picturesque and beautiful even in the gloomy morning light.

We continued up the East Coast past Rozel to Bouley Bay. And while the way there was beautiful...

...the bay itself was entirely deserted. There used to be a hotel put it is closed now and it all felt a bit like a ghost town. Which combined with the weather made for a rather spooky atmosphere. It did remind me a bit of Scotland which will always be dear to my heart.

Making our way along the north, we had lunch at Grève de Lecq where the sun finally decided to grace us with its presence. And what a difference a ray makes.

Although it was pretty cold, I almost did want to go into the water. But mom had to be reasonable. Which was for the best. The wind was really strong and I might just have lost a toe in the process.

But still, it was a shame to not splash around in the Sea. It's so clear and mesmerisingly blue and turquoise. 

We did have a very hard time convincing ourselves to go back to the bus and rejoin our group. There is something so soothing about beaches.

Alas, rejoin our group we had to. So with one last look back we bid adieu and continued onwards.

We finally made our way to the outskirts of the west coast.

The ruins of Grosnez Castle to be exact. And while not much is left, you can still see that it was once a strong fortress.

The walls and trenches line the entire area and make for a wonderful adult playground of climbing and exploring.

And great pictures. The whole area is a shutter bug's dream come true. Colourful flowers, rich green grass, cliffs and old castle ruins - what more could you want?

This time we almost did miss the bus, because I couldn't get mom to move away. There was always one more angle to take a picture from. 

We did make it back though and were driven all the way down to La Corbière Lighthouse which is only accessible during low tide. Looking at it from these pictures it's hard to imagine that the entire street leading up to it is completely swallowed by water twice a day.

Not having the time to go all the way towards the lighthouse, we decided that we would definitely go back, thus sealing the fate on our first hiking trip of this vacation. But that is another story.

The current trip took us further on along the south which was my personal favourite nature wise. 

And that is due in no small amount to Beauport and St Brelade's Bay which are so breathtakingly beautiful that we came back not once but twice to enjoy the view. Below you can see Beauport Bay from above.

And this is one half of St Brelade's Bay - with the other half right below.

It has the cutest little Pier and feels like it should be located somewhere by the Mediterranean Sea and not in the channel. It really was a shame that it never got warm enough to make actual use of the beaches.

Our final stop were the bunkers by Noirmont Point. While it may not seem like a military base point, the German occupation "gave" Jersey a lot of these scattered all over the island.

They are horrible to look at in all honesty and destroy the otherwise flawless impression of the island. But they are part of Jersey's history and a stark reminder of World War II.

And they can't take away from Jersey's beauty for too long.

Having well and truly fallen in love, we went home to plot our first hike. Although we may have taken the long way home past some shoe stores. Jersey has no VAT so things are cheaper here than in the rest of the UK and with the pound as weak as it currently is we made some good bargains. Which immediately regretted as we had no space in our suitcases whatsoever. Vacation problems...