Guernsey Day 6 - A walk in the park

	Today's official activity was a visit to Candie Park.  Alex would lead us up there and get us into the museum.  We went up with the rest, but as we had already been in the museum, we just walked around the gardens.
	Supposed to be the oldest greenhouse on the island, but it is not well maintained, or not maintained at all.  I hope this is only temporary.
	The climate allows plants to grow that would not survive elsewhere. We spent maybe 90 minutes in the park, then had a drink from the café and returned to town.
	We arrived back just too late to ride the 'Petite Train', so bought some lunch and tried to find some shade to eat it, on what was the hottest day of the holiday so far. After an age of a wait, we finally boarded the train. Another guided tour, with a lot of repeated information, but it also went to some parts of the town we had not seen - the bathing pools. They were created by the Victorians, with strict male / female segregation. Even being built so that one group could not see the other.
	We then walked out to the bathing pools and visited the café there.  We watched the boys dive-bombing off the diving board as we enjoyed some refreshment. Then on to the military tunnels, with an impressive display of WWII memorabilia and air conditioning.
	On the way back we passed this tribute to Edler Schweizer Ritter Othon, a friend of Edward In 1277 he was appointed Governor for life of Guernsey and the Channel Islands. That a tribute like this can be left out in the open, close to a bar, is a tribute to the people of Guernsey.  There has been no vandalism of this monument.

Guernsey Day 5 - Back in time

If you have ever though that maybe you'd like to live in the past, then try Sark.  The "Sark Venture" was waiting for us as we queued on the dock.  Tickets for the outward journey, up and down on the 'toast rack', and the return journey, had been carefully distributed by Alex, our guide, while we were still in the hotel lobby.  He had carefully given one pack to each person (refusing to give two packs to one of a couple).  Nevertheless, as we were about to board one lady could not find her ticket, and did not remember receiving one.  He gave her his tickets and set off to buy replacements.  While we were sitting inside the boat, she found them and another lady went and got him, so all's well ...

Off we went for the 60-minute crossing to Sark.  The sea was flat and calm, the drone of the diesel engine soporific, and was the close atmosphere inside the boat.   I didn't sleep, but it was a close thing. 

Climbing up the hill after docking didn't do much to bring life back to me, the walking was slower than I would have liked.  A little way up is a café and tractors pulling the 'toast racks' to take you up the long steep hill on to the island proper - which is pretty flat.  As you can see from the picture, there are no chains or bars to keep you in your seats.  I was sat on the edge, it was a bouncy ride with a few twists and turns.  Plenty of adrenaline now as I slide on the plastic seat a few times.

Once on the island, we wandered up the main road.  There are no cars, but there are tractors, and electric bikes, pedal bikes and horses and carts.  Walking on the roads is not safe.  Indeed, health and safety seems not to be a feature of Sark.  We saw women riding on the mud guards of tractors, two people on a bike, all sorts of weaving in and out as one person tried to get past another.

A lady had kindly moved to allow us to sit on the seat by the side of the road.  She had been a resident of Sark for three years, originally visiting as a tourist and falling in love with the island.  Following a road accident, she decided that life was too short not to do what she wanted and moved.  A courageous decision, considering there is no NHS on Sark.  Health care is provided by insurance.  We had just a little time to kill before the horse and cart tour of the island.  We visited the post office (and general store, hardware store and garden centre), where we bought ice cream, and some metal measuring spoons. Then visited the Tourist Information office for about 10 minutes. 

Then it was time to climb up on the cart and be led around the island by the horse.  Our guide told us stories of the original old houses and the families that were the first residents. Anyone can live on Sark, if they can afford it.  There are no taxes, no road maintenance, limited schools, and a general consensus that the government is not looking after the island as it should.

Generators are required in some places because one owner decide he didn't want cables crossing his land, so those beyond it cannot have mains electricity.  

The tour returned us to the top of the main road up from the port.  We spent a little while in a café with some of our fellow travellers, then it was back on the 'toast rack' for an even hairier journey back down the hill.

The crossing back to St. Peter Port was as smooth as the outgoing journey.

In the evening, we visited the town church and looked at the only one of its windows to survive the war. We had dinner at the 'Ship and Crown'.  Up the long flight of steps to the first floor, where there is a very wide window providing amazing views of the port.  The fish and chips here was lovely, but also quite expensive.  That's partly the location, but also the in line with prices on Guernsey in general.

Guernsey Day 4 - Around the island by bus

This was perhaps the longest of the organised events.  We joined the bus quite early and began the tour.  There was, of course, some overlapping information with the walk around St. Peter Port, and at one point when he was talking about Privateers, the tax rate went from 20% on the walking tour to 33% on the bus tour.  If you don't want to follow the link, privateers are pirate ships that employed by the state to disrupt foreign (enemy) shipping.  They are allowed to keep what they capture, but must pay a tax to the crown. 

The first stop on the tour was the Little Chapel at Les Vauxbelets.

The chapel is 16 ft x 9 ft. It was built from whatever could be begged from anywhere.  It is beautifully done and a fantastic tribute to God.  Getting through it is quite challenging, it's narrow, and I was in constant fear of damaging it. A lot of the broken pottery is Wedgewood. There really are bits from everywhere.
	Our next stop was a WWII gun emplacement.  We left the bus and walked across the uneven ground, with its trenches and camouflage.  Even now, it is only clear where the trenches are if you look closely.  There were many warnings from the bus driver to take care. It was a beautiful day -very peaceful, providing a stark contrast to the activity that was here over 80 years ago.
	For lunch, we stopped at the Guernsey Pearl, where I snapped a picture of a model of the Roman ship that was wrecked. I don't remember seeing it on our previous visit.
The Royal Golden Guernsey Goat is a similar colour to the Guernsey Cow.  The breed of cow is carefully managed.  They have a genetic difference that prevents them from breaking down beta-carotene, hence the colour.  That also give their milk (so also butter and cheese) a rich golden colour.

The second part of the tour, around the north of the island, took us along the north coast - Vason bay, Cobo bay and a few smaller ones.  These are where the natural beaches are found.  They are long, wide beaches with fine sand - a beautiful place for an afternoon at the beach.  We didn't get to stop for a paddle. 

Moving around the East Coast, we soon completed our journey through St Samson and back to St. Peter Port.  We had lunch in a bar, opposite the Prince of Wales pub.  I think the pub provided the food, judging by the direction it came from.  The bar had a big TV, and we watched some Wimbledon, then visited Candie park and looked at the statue of Victor Hugo, having found that the tapestry had been removed from its location, and could not be viewed.

Dinner was outside Island Pizza, quite late, by the time we finished they were already closed and just about packed away.

Guernsey Day 3 - Ship wrecks

Fort Grey, from the Guernsey Pearl.

Today is the only free day of the Holiday.  The free day was supposed to be tomorrow, but the Island tour by bus has been moved.

We headed to Fort Grey, opposite the Guernsey Pearl.  We had been given the information about bus routes and charges in the TI yesterday. So, 91 out, from the terminus, and later 92 back.  The route takes us past the airport. Not knowing enough about how the buses work, and exactly where the stops are, I followed the route on Google Maps and the island map that the tour guide (Alex) had given us.  I pressed the bell early, and the bus stopped some way away from where I expected it to.  Getting off, we saw the word 'BUS' painted on the footpath.  Now we know how it works.

We had heard a lot about the Roman era shipwreck that was found just off the coast.   The Guernsey Museum has the story here, https://museums.gov.gg/romanship. This location, in a shed next to the Guernsey Pearl, is a temporary place for the wreck, it will be moved and displayed in a purpose built location eventually.

The remains of the ship, behind glass.

 The fort contains displays of various Guernsey shipwrecks, some disastrous and some not so bad.  From the top there is an excellent all-round view of the bay.  It is an ideal defensive location.  The day was very windy, so being up on top was not pleasant.

We lunched at the Guernsey Pearl, and tried their Himalayan food.   

The soup I had was nice, but a little too spicy for me. Then back on the 91, again the fare was £3.60 for both of us.

We had been told by the lady in the TI that there was a concert in Saumarez Park - The National Trust of Guernsey's annual show. So we took another bus and bought dinner there. Dinner was a Guernsey Ice cream (deliciously creamy), followed by 'bean cup', a local dish. It is a thick, mixed bean stew with ham hock, served in a take-away coffee cup. I enjoyed it, Jo, not so much.

We tried, then bought some Gache ('gosh'), a traditional Guernsey tea bread. The settled down to watch the show. The traditional dancers did a good job, but reminded me of  'Allo 'Allo. The scout marching band was very entertaining and the local folk singers, singing in Guernésiais, did a great job. 

 

Then to get the bus back. This is the penultimate bus on this route. We do not know where it goes from, so we had to leave at 7:30pm to be sure to catch it. That meant that the last act, the one we were most interested in hearing, was missed. The show was running a little late, but this band took ages to set up, and then found the sound system was no longer working. We left, without hearing a single word from them.

We met a couple from our tour who had had an eventful day not getting quite where they expected to, and had been rescued by a local driver. They went to the stop we got off at, but we went in a different direction and waited at another stop. That stop had a closed sign on it, so we walked further down the road to the 'Temporary Bus Stop' sign. There were a few other festival goers there, and we chatted and convinced ourselves that we were in the right place. I went back to get our fellow travellers, but they were already on their way.  We almost filled the bus.

Guernsey Day 2 - Guided Tour

Sunday is often a strange day. Many places are closed, but today we have a guided tour of St. Peter Port. We meet outside the hotel and are split into two groups - 31 is too many for a guide to deal with. The guides take different routes, and we cross halfway round.

The dome is made of copper.  It was specified on the plans as being green, but when it was constructed it was copper coloured.  The owner of the building refused to pay until it was green, which would take about two years.  The builder found out that horse urine turned copper green really quickly, so horse urine was collected and tipped over the dome until it was green - a matter of days.

 

Our guide is very knowledgeable, and indicates the friendly rivalry with the bigger island (Jersey) early on - it is not to be mentioned.

Here are some of the things I remember from her talk.

• Guernsey is independent, not in UK, never in EU. It looks to the UK for defence and foreign affairs – and jailing serious criminals.  There is a jail on the island, but it is rarely used.
• Guernsey's position dates from 1204, and the break-up of the Norman kingdom, when a charter by King John grants independence, the only promise they have to make is that they will defend the King.
• Witches seats were built into the top of buildings to stop witches sitting on chimneys and falling down them when they dozed off.
• The last accused witch on the island was in the 1940s(?) The lady concerned had been selling potions that didn't work.  She was accused of witchcraft, but the police were uncomfortable with using the ancient charge, so she was charged with deception, and jailed.
• There is a World Record held by the island for the shortest distance between a pub and a church. It is measured from the gargoyle, to the pub wall.
• Guernsey granite – much harder than Scottish granite – was used on the steps of St. Paul’s, and somewhere in Ukraine. At it peak, there were over 250 quarries.
• Ship building was once a major industry.  My guide could not answer the question, "Where did they get the wood?"
• Tomato growing was once a major industry
• The flag was developed in 1985 to differentiate Guernsey from England at major sporting events, before that the English flag was used, which confused other competitors.
• There are stones around the town talking of a town wall. There is no evidence that it was ever built.  The stones say so, but there doesn’t seem to be any archaeological evidence. 

__

A witches seat

The stone marks the position of the gates of the town, but no wall has been found

From the end of the gargoyle to the pub is the shortest distance between a church and a pub in the British Isles.

After the guided walk, we had lunch in Nello's Deli - a crab sandwich for me.  Then we wandered around the town a little, visited the TI, where we got some ideas of things to do, and returned to the hotel to watch the British GP and Wimbledon.  We had some take-away salads from M&S for dinner.
 

Guernsey Day 1 - Half Volley

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 Misérables (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.

Bletchley Park

On the coach at some unearthly hour of the morning, it was shortly before 10am when we arrived at Bletchley Park courtesy of the Billericay Resident's Association. 

The house and grounds are stunning, if a little odd at times, as the building is relatively recent, with older features added in as the owner decided he liked the idea.

Bletchley Park is, of course, the place where the code breaking was done in WWII.  It was selected because:

- it was available

- far enough from London to not be a target

- between Oxford and Cambridge, where the employees would be selected

There are fascinating displays all around the place about espionage and code breaking.  How the codes were broken, for Enigma, and Lorenze.  There are stories of the code breakers, the conditions they lived in, and the 'unique skill sets' required for the different functions.  Most of all, the secrecy they worked under, being unable to tell even their spouse what they were doing.

We were on a tight timescale, as is the way with organised trips, so we did not see it all.  Maybe I missed the computing parts that I was so interested in, or maybe they are elsewhere.  We did, at least, get to see a model of the Bombe machine, apparently 'working'.

There are also some vehicles on display in the garages. This is my favourite:

1947 Sunbeam Talbot

1947 Sunbeam Talbot description

We were early enough to get the last two tickets for the guided tour, on the way to the meeting point, we passed this amazing copper beech.  I wonder how big it was in 1939, or if it was even there?

Alan Turing is now well known, because of the film Imitation Game, but he features only in a small part of the whole story.  The Commander Alistair Denniston features much more prominently, and was apparently very good at managing his group of brilliant 'mis-fits'.

Another lovely day out, thanks BDRA.
 

 

RSPB Rainham Marshes (14 May 2025)

RSPB Rainham Marshes is a relatively local RSPB site that we had not visited until yesterday.  So, taking advantage of the lack of child care responsibilities for the day, we set out shortly before lunchtime for "The Albion".  You can read what others thought of it here: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g2052502-d2509265-Reviews-Albion-Rainham_Essex_England.html. We had a very nice older person's meal in an almost empty pub, but we did arrive at 11:50. 

After that, it was only a short drive to the reserve.  The Visitor Centre is an impressive building, sadly it was almost unoccupied.  No refreshments of any sort available, despite it being a warm, bright day.

We walked the 'wrong' way round, so the first hide was some distance away. 

This hide is quite a distance from the scrapes, so the Grey Heron is very small. It flew around a few times.  An impressive bird. We also saw: Sandpiper Lapwing Canada Goose Grey Heron Greylag Goose Mallard M&F Pochard Lapwing Great White Egret Northern Shoveler M Oyster catcher Black Headed Gull Red Shank Moorhen

Coming at this time of year means we also get to see some young. Here a Greylag family are scouring the edge of the scrape, near where we're walking.  We also heard (according to the Merlin App): Eurasian Blackbird Canada Goose Greater Whitethroat European Goldfinch Cetti's Warbler Common Cuckoo Eurasian Wren House Sparrow European Robin Eurasian Blackcap Eurasian Blackbird Eurasian Blue Tit Common Chiffchaff Great Tit Great Spotted Woodpecker

By far the most exciting of those was the cuckoo. I hadn't heard a cuckoo for years.

Sadly, the reserve has suffered some damage. This level of vandalism is appalling. The hide will be out of action for a considerable time.

The reserve has a considerable war time (WWII) heritage. The RSPB also do their best to preserve this and make it accessible to the public.

	There is also, of course, loads of plant life.  There are also quite a lot of these in various places, pretty now, but don't eat the berries later in the year.  It's Deadly Nightshade, if you don't recognize it.

Allotment - Just Watering -29 Apr 2025

 

The grass has grown since our last visit, but not much else.  IT has been very dry.
The main activity today was watering, in the hope that the other potatoes will start to grow. We have decided to strim the grass and have bought a battery strimmer.

Today's visit was just about 20 minutes.

Highland Cattle at Norsey Meadow

 The Meadow is closed.  Despite what it says on the notices, when the Highland cattle are there, the meadow is not open to the public.  This appears to have something to do with idiots and horns. Idiots, because people have tried to feed them things they're not supposed to eat.  Cows eat grass, I thought that was obvious, just leave them to it.  Horns, because the horns are both awesome and terrifying at the same time.  The lady grooming them has received bruises from contact with the horns.  Having said all that, go and see them.  They are due to move to Hannikins soon, and are expected back in the Meadow in September.

 

We're going on a bear hunt

Well, actually a cow hunt, and we've been.  It was significantly less dangerous than a bear hunt.  It has it's own hazards, of course, but no more rambling (pun intended).

Our destination is Mill Meadows, Billericay (just up the road for us).  They have recently introduced Aberdeen Angus cattle.  Here are some of the pictures I took as we wandered around.  The pictures are in reverse order, so the cows are at the bottom of this post, because we found them very quickly. 

The birdsong was amazing, we used 'Merlin' to identify the birds: Wren, Blackbird, Robin, Blackcap, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff

The hedge bordering the Southend Road, I think it's mainly Blackthorn, always lovely in early spring.

A dandelion, supporting insect wildlife, and bringing so bright colours to the meadow.

Broom, another plant contributing to the colours in the Meadow.

The Oak Tree is dominant on the left, but has competed with something else on the right.

Picnickers on the other side of the valley, we can hear voices, but not words

Aberdeen Angus, mother cow

Aberdeen Angus youngsters (no horns)

The cows are looked after by 'cow checkers', who visit regularly to ensure they are healthy.  this was true when the Red Poll were in Mill Meadows too.  We met one, he was collecting rubbish in a bag.  As he approached the cows they assumed the bag contained food and gathered round.  Was that a cunning plan, or just good fortune?  There are new water troughs, only the ones where the cows are have water in them, the water doesn't look very pleasant to the human eye, but for cows I expect it is fine.