Guernsey and Jersey are types of creamy milk. Sark is one half the name of a famous ship and a scotch whiskey. But Guernsey, Jersey and Sark are also the names of three of the four main Channel Islands that pledge allegiance to the British flag, while being less than 20 miles from France.
Isolated from England by more than 80 miles of English Channel, these islands have always been a place unto themselves, and in many ways they still are. The Channel Islands have their own currency and passports, for example, and on the island of Jersey, some court trials are conducted only in Norman French, not the Queen’s English.
THE QUEEN & LIBERATION DAY
The queen was not in her parlor eating bread and honey, like the old nursery rhyme claims. Rather, on the day we were in Guernsey, Queen Elizabeth II, with Prince Philip always a few steps behind, was attending the 60th anniversary celebration of the liberation of the Channel Islands at the end of World War II.
The first ceremony of the day was an appropriately solemn affair in a meeting hall in St. Peter Port, this island’s capital city. From our seats in the balcony, however, the gathering looked like a glorious spring flower display, since every woman there was wearing a big, gorgeous hat.
Before the royal couple left Guernsey, an island with a population of about 65,000, Queen Elizabeth strolled by the parade route in her traditional walkabout, greeting the crowds, shaking hands and patting babies. That afternoon she flew to Jersey for that island’s even more lavish festivities. Liberation anniversaries are of special interest here, as these islands were the only part of Great Britain that was occupied by the Germans during the war.
Vintage military vehicles in tiptop shape, shipped in from England on ferryboats, came by in a cavalcade that went on for hours. Soldiers in 1940s uniforms marched by, and a man who was a ringer for Winston Churchill waved to the crowd from his wartime Jeep. There were several flyovers, including the sleek British Red Arrows with 12 planes in formation. Another flyover featured a Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire, all British World War II-era planes.
At the end of the day, fireworks lit up the sky over Guernsey’s harbor. We watched them from the roof of our hotel, The Old Government House, which offers fine views of the sea. Earlier, at dinner in the hotel, in keeping with the Liberation Day theme, instead of the usual bill of fare we were given a menu of food that might have been served in the 1940s.
My husband, Gene, relished his potato and bacon omelet, while I dined on the Jugged Hare, a dish dating back to when rabbit was cooked over the fire in a deep, jug-shaped container. And these two dishes were just the starters. Dinner ended with two kinds of cake — carrot and jam. Cake was served during the ration years to add variety to meals and was made from whatever was on hand. The best dessert on the island, however, was the Auberge Restaurant’s organic lemon tart with thick Guernsey Cream.
On Sark we met a local historian, Richard Dewe, who has been collecting occupation memorabilia for decades. This photo, that document, it’s now quite a compilation. The only local who died during those five years was a young girl who stepped on a land mine. Although there were no battles here, the last couple of years of the war had food shortages for all, including the occupying Germans. What helped the Channel Islanders toward the end, according to Dewe, were the food packages from the Red Cross ship, Vega. Now, whenever an international disaster occurs that requires the work of the Red Cross, the islanders dig deep into their pockets to contribute in memory of their own time of need.
The Liberation Day ceremony on Sark was held inside the tiny Anglican church, and at precisely 11:30 on a sunny morning, the three vintage planes from the day before came over three times in a flyover. A brief parade followed and made its way to the picnic grounds of the island’s new meeting hall. It could have been an American summertime picnic at the food booths. They sold hot dogs and cheeseburgers with onions and French fries.
THE SARK CODE
Known for its dramatic coastline, its pirate past and feudal present, Sark is all of three miles long and a mile and a half wide. The 600 locals, who are mostly Brits and known as Sarkees, have a real lord of the manor and their own code of medieval laws that date back centuries. In 1565 the island was divided into 40 pieces of land, and that division remains intact today. Sark is self-governed, self-financed and has its own legislature.
We arrived at Sark’s harbor on a ferry from Guernsey. We then boarded the so-called toast rack, a tracker-pulled, open-sided bus that took us to the top of a steep hill where a few shops were scattered along a narrow road. Cars are not permitted on this island, so you have to get around by foot, bicycle or horse-drawn cart. A tractor hauls visitors’ luggage to their accommodations.
To get to the island’s Stocks Hotel, our home for the night, we walked through town, made a left at the visitor’s center, admired the big house on the lane, and then turned at the little sign by the meadow. Once there we followed the footpath by a sheep pasture until we arrived at the hotel that was originally built as a farmhouse in 1741.
We had dinner there and enjoyed a range of local favorites, including an excellent pate and mushroom soup. When it came time for the entrees, I asked for the seafood that the guests ordered the most. It turned out to be skate, a mild-tasting flat fish as big as the platter it came on.
WAR TUNNELS AND FINE DINING
Jersey with its 20 miles of sandy beaches and moderate climate is the largest of the Channel Islands and the one closest to France. In our few days on this cosmopolitan island of about 90,000 citizens, we saw newborn Jersey cows, country lanes, colorful gardens, Andean bears and even a family of gorillas at the Jersey Zoo. We also admired a splendid collection of brilliantly colored orchids at the Eric Young Orchid Foundation display house in Jersey’s countryside. Founded by an American, this facility’s purpose is to develop new breeds of orchids. And the scientists who work there clearly love the dramatic.
Jersey has the most to see from the days of the German occupation. The most powerful place is the Jersey War Tunnels, known as Ho8, that were built over a three-year period. Today the tunnels, one of the most popular tourist sites for all nationalities, house an exhibit called Captive Island to show how the occupation affected the islanders. This 1,000-meter (about 2/3 of a mile) structure that is geometric, orderly and precise was blasted out with gunpowder, shaped with hand tools and covered with concrete. Designed as a bombproof barracks, The Jersey Tunnels eventually housed an underground hospital.
Our finest dining during our week in the Channel Islands was in Jersey. Dinner at the restaurant in St. Brelade’s Bay Hotel had it all, including a piano player who was performing Gershwin’s “When Love Walked In,” as we walked out into the night. From the just-picked freshness of the salads to the steamed salmon and grilled venison, it was a delight. Our room service breakfasts at the comfortable Somerville Hotel were also special. At the Somerville, the eggs are perfect and what’s supposed to be cold is icy, and what’s supposed to be hot is hot.
At trip’s end, we found the Channel Islands to be part England, yet entirely themselves, each with their own elegance and style.
INCIDENTAL INTELLIGENCE
GETTING THERE:
Airlines. We flew to London internationally on British Airways, www.ba.com, 800-403-9882. Our next leg of the trip was from London to Guernsey on Aurigny Air Services, www.aurigny.com. From Jersey we flew back to London on British European. www.Flybe.com.
ON THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
JERSEY:
Jersey Tourism, www.jersey.co.uk, Liberation Square, St. Helier, Jersey, JE1 1BB, +44 1534 500700, fax 44 1534 500899.
Jersey War Tunnels, www.jerseywartunnels.com, info@jerseywartunnels.com, Les Charrieres Malorey, St. Lawrence, Jersey, JE3 1FU, Channel Islands, +44 (0) 1534 860 808, fax +44(0)1534 860 886.
Somerville Hotel, www.dolanhotels.com, Somerville@dolanhotels.com, St. Aubin, Jersey JE3 8AD, Channel Islands, +44 (0) 1534 741226.
St. Brelades Bay Hotel and restaurant, www.breladesbayhotel.com, info@stbreladesbayhotel.com, 01534-746141.
The Eric Young Orchid Foundation, www.ericyoungorchidfoundation.co.uk, Victoria Village, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5HH, Channel Islands, +44 1534 861 963.
GUERNSEY:
Guernsey Tourism, www.visitguernsey.com, enquiries@visitguernsey.com, P.O. Box 23, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands GY1 3AN, +44 (0) 1481 723552.
Old Government House Hotel, www.theoghhotel.com, P.O. Box 47, Ann’s Place, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4AZ Channel Islands, 01481738505. The OGH is the longest established hotel in St. Peter Port and when it was an 18th-century house, it was the official residence of the governor of the Island.
The Auberge Restaurant, www.theauberge.gg, theauberge@cwgsy.net.
SARK:
Sark Tourism. www.sark.info/, e-mail: contact@sark.info, Sark, Channel Islands GY9 0SB, +44 (0) 1481 832345. There is no airport on Sark. Visitors arrive by ferry, usually from Guernsey, a trip that takes about 45 minutes.
Stocks Hotel. www.stocks-sark.com. Originally built as a farmhouse in 1741, it became a hotel in 1895.
