thit_cho

http://tinyurl.com/3bv9ql

A few photos from my trip over Thanksgiving to the five populated Channel Islands.

Herm and Sark, both of which are car free, and Alderney, which has very little traffic, are great places to hike and spend the day. I didn't spend a lot of time in Jersey (one day to visit Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) or Guernsey (one day in St. Peter Port to see Castle Cornet and Victor Hugo's house, both of which were closed).

fnarf999

Nice pics. Do you have a trip report, or an itinerary? How long did you spend there? Too much, too little?

Maria_H

I'd also be interested to hear your views. I've been to all ot them, except Alderney and particularly liked staying on Guernsey and visiting Herm. Jersey and Guernsey both merit much more than a days visit and the islands are particularly lovely in spring, when the wild flowers come out.

thit_cho

I only had five days, and I knew that I wanted to spend a day on each of the smaller, quieter islands (Alderney, Herm and Sark), hiking in relative solitude along the coasts. November must be in the middle of the "off season" because there were very few visitors on those islands -- the boat from Guernsey to Sark, which likely holds 100+ passengers, had less than 10, and the boat to Herm, with is larger, had less than 10 passengers. I really enjoyed hiking along the coast and through the fields on all three islands, and for very large periods of time, I didn't see anyone else.

I was less interested in Jersey and Guernsey, using them as stepping stones to the other islands, but I knew that I wanted to visit Durrell (on Jersey) and see Hugo's house on Guernsey, and with a full day on each of the two larger islands, I was able to see the sites in which I was interested (as well as explore St Helier and St Peter Port and have pretty good seafood on both islands).

I enjoy the smaller islands, and will visit Tonga, the Cook Islands and both Samoas over Christmas (along with the north and south islands of New Zealand).

Michael

bigtyke

Nice photos. A couple of years ago I asked on this site if anyone had been to Sark and no one replied.

It has been on my list of places to go for many years. A friend of mine is the cousin of the island's ruler.

Jean

Thanks for the lovely pictures. I have friends who once lived on Guernsey and now live on Alderney. (Guernsey was too busy for them!)

We saw Victor Hugo's home on Guernsey and thought it was interesting but not overwhelmingly so. I don't know if you actually got to the house before discovering it wasn't open, but it's not very large and doesn't have unusual architecture. The furniture and decor were very eccentric, as were the stories of his private life as told by the tour guide/docent.

Your photos make me want to go back and spend more time on Herm and Sark. I also loved shopping on the high street in Alderney and having everyone know we were the Yanks visiting one of the locals.