In terms of planning, everything has been done for us. We are officially old, as we start our Titan Holiday. Titan is owned by Saga. The car arrives just when it said on the itinerary. Here we meet three ladies, two of whom will become our companions for large parts of the trip. The 'bus' (9 seats, including the driver) is a bit small for the six of us. One is in the front seat, so we cannot communicate with her.
We arrive at the airport after a fairly uncomfortable, but uneventful journey. There is plenty of time to spare, check-in / baggage drop is simple, and the queue is small. It's a long time since I've flown on a turboprop, I remember they can descend more quickly than jets. The weather is slightly cloudy, so it's a beautiful day for flying We are soon in the clouds, so we can't easily track where we are.The flight is about one hour, and almost before we know it we have descended below the clouds and the instruction has been given to prepare for landing. As we approach the runway, the stability of the descent disappears in turbulence, shortly after that there is a loud and heavy bump, we bounced back into the air (hence half-volley). We hit the runway, but did not land. The pilot took us for a little tour of the Guernsey Airspace and then tried again. This time it was normal.
We had soon claimed our bags and met with the Titan representative. A bus took us from the airport to the hotel, a separate van took our luggage. On arriving at the hotel, our room access cards and an information pack were ready for us; we were soon in our room. We are on the third floor, in an extension of the hotel. As we enter the extension corridor, the temperature rises maybe 5 or 6 degrees. Thankfully, the room has air conditioning, although it takes time to cool the room.
There is a drinks reception and dinner at the hotel later, but for now we have time to explore St Peter Port. While doing that, we stopped for tea and a very large slice of apple pie in the Terrace Garden café.
I had been discussing flags - especially the Guernsey flag, with Thomas. I had not quite understood his description, until I saw the flag, then it made sense. It was essential to send a picture of the flag and complete the conversation. | |
Post boxes in Guernsey are blue. Their Post Office was privatised; the company then decided to change the colour. They are also celebrating 80 years of liberation (on May 9th 2025, and throughout the year). Knitted post box covers are now a 'thing' in Britain, and from this perspective they are as British as it gets. | |
There's a sculpture of a man sitting on a seat. The man is not identified, we looked around for a plaque, but there was only one to the sculptor. We found out later that this is Victor Hugo. His most famous works are: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) and Les MisĂ©rables (1862). He lived in exile on Guernsey for about 15 years, and wrote Toilers of the Sea (Les Travailleurs de la Mer – 1866) as a tribute. |
Guernsey is an independent country. It is not part of the United Kingdom, nor is it part of the European Union (it never was). Therefore, it is not covered by any 'data roaming' policies, so using network data will cost. We found plenty of Wi-Fi, but it is not everywhere.