The Mini Rough Guide to Jersey (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781839052637
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Rough Guides Mini Jersey Make the most of your time with this brand-new, pocket-sized travel guide from Rough Guides Compact, concise and packed full of essential information about where to go and what to do, this is an ideal on-the-move guide for exploring Jersey. From top tourist attractions like the imposing Mont Orgueil Castle which towers above the village of Gorey, the unforgettable Jersey War Tunnels, and the uniquely interactive Maritime Museum, to hidden gems, including the North Coast Path and Beauport Beach, plan your perfect trip with this practical, all-in-one mini travel guide. Features of this travel guide to Jersey:
- Inspirational itineraries: discover the best destinations, sights and excursions, highlighted with stunning photography
- Historical and cultural insights: delve into the island's rich history and culture, and learn all about its people, art and traditions
- Things not to miss: the most essential sights and experiences at a glance
- Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: from transport to tipping, dining out to where to stay, we've got you covered
- Covers: St Helier, excusrions from St Helier, the Southwest, the West Coast, the North Coast, Durrell and the East CoastGet the most out of your trip with: Rough Guides Mini Jersey About Rough Guides: Rough Guides have been inspiring travellers for over 35 years, with over 30 million copies sold globally. Synonymous with practical travel tips, quality writing and a trustworthy 'tell it like it is' ethos, the Rough Guides list includes more than 260 travel guides to 120+ destinations, gift-books and phrasebooks.

Out and About

Jersey is a tiny island of 9 miles (14km) by 5 miles (8km), but the network of 350 miles (560km) of roads, many of them narrow lanes, plus the speed limit of 40 mph (64km/h) and even 15 mph (24km/h) on some rural roads gives the impression it’s far bigger. The island is divided up into 12 parishes – not that you would be aware which one you were in when driving around the island. Each parish has its own stretch of coastline, and wherever you are based on the island you are never far from a good beach.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

Mont Orgueil Castle and Gorey Harbour

The land slopes from the dramatic cliffs on the north coast to the flat sandy beaches of the south. The capital and hub of the island is St Helier on the south coast, which is the best centre for shopping and bus transport to attractions and beaches. However, you may prefer smaller, prettier and less traffic-thronged resorts such as Gorey or St Aubin – or the beach resort of St Brelade. If you don’t have your own car these three centres all have good bus connections.

The following pages start with St Helier and then take in some inland excursion destinations from the capital before going around the coast in a clockwise direction. Travelling from the south to north or north to south, often via picturesque valleys, is another option – but travelling east to west or vice versa is trickier unless you know the island well.

St Helier

Capital of Jersey and its only real town, St Helier 1 [map] took its name from the hermit, Helerius, who arrived here in the 6th century (for more information, click here). It was not until the 19th century that St Helier was developed as a main town with its harbours extended to become a commercial port. Today the first impressions are hardly picturesque. Arriving by sea you are greeted by a power station, cranes, high-rise blocks and traffic-thronged streets. However, the centre of the capital reveals a more charming side with its markets, museums and pedestrianised streets. A good starting point is the Jersey Tourism Visitor Centre (www.jersey.com) which is located within Liberation Bus Station, just along the Esplanade from Liberation Square.

Liberation Square

It was in Liberation Square A [map] that crowds of islanders gathered on 9 May 1945 to welcome the British fleet that had come to release them after five gruelling years of German Occupation. The Liberation Sculpture, representing islanders and a British soldier clutching the Union Jack, was placed here in 1995, the fiftieth anniversary of the Liberation when Prince Charles opened the square. The Union Jack which featured in the original sculpture was then changed to a group of doves by the Occupation and Liberation Committee. Following comments about islanders being more likely to eat the doves than release them (food shortages were severe during the Occupation) the Union Jack was reinstated. On the north side of the square the Pomme d’Or Hotel overlooking the harbour provided a prime site for the German Naval Headquarters during the Occupation. On Liberation Day, in front of crowds of islanders, the Union Jack was raised on the balcony of the building, replacing the Nazi swastika.

Jersey Museum and Art Gallery

Just east of Liberation Square, the Jersey Museum and Art Gallery B [map] (www.jerseyheritage.org; daily Jan–mid-Mar & Nov–Dec 10am–4pm, mid-Mar–Oct until 5pm) offers an excellent introduction to the island, tracing its story from prehistoric to present times. On the ground floor you can see some fascinating archive footage of the early years of tourism on the island, and a reconstruction of a Paleolithic cave scene at La Cotte de St Brelade, where cave dwellers hunted animals by stampeding them off the clifftops. The first floor is devoted to the story of Jersey, and its culture and traditions, including oyster-catching, shipbuilding, farming, knitting and tourism. The most valued treasure is a Bronze Age flange-twisted torque, discovered in St Helier and thought to have been a gift from a tribal leader on the mainland to ensure the loyalty of an island chieftain. Adjoining the museum on the upper floors are the faithfully restored rooms of the Merchant’s House, built in the 19th century for a wealthy merchant.

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

Jersey Museum and Gallery

Parish Church of St Helier

Just north of Jersey Museum the Parish Church of St Helier C [map] was a nerve centre of the town in times gone by. A church has stood here since the 11th century and it was a place where locals sought refuge in times of crisis, elections were held and bells were rung when enemy ships were sighted. Below the pulpit a memorial is dedicated to the heroic Major Peirson, who was killed in nearby Royal Square in the Battle of Jersey; his enemy, the Baron de Rullecourt, has a stone memorial in the graveyard. On the far side of the churchyard, Church Street still retains its fetching French-Norman name alongside the English. La Rue Trousse Cotillon or ‘Pick Up Your Petticoat Street’ dates from the times when ladies had to lift up their dresses to avoid mud, drains and sewers. The street leads into Library Place, where the aptly named Constable of St Helier, Pierre le Sueur, who founded the underground sewage system, is honoured with an obelisk.

Royal Square

East of Church Street the peaceful, leafy Royal Square D [map] was formerly the hub of town life. This used to be the marketplace, and it was here that proclamations were announced, prisoners awaited trial in a wooden cage and petty offenders were flogged or put in the pillory or stocks. In 1648 two witches were strangled and burnt at the stake in the square. Happier events take place these days, such as weddings (for UK as well as Jersey residents) in the former corn market. In the centre of the square a stone commemorates the Battle of Jersey (for more information, click here) which took place here in 1871. The conspicuous gilded statue is King George II (1727–60), dressed as Caesar – but wearing the Order of the Garter. He was given this place of honour after donating £300 for the construction of St Helier’s first harbour and the square’s name was changed from the Market Place to Royal Square.

The Jersey Lily

Two portraits of Jersey’s most famous daughter, Lillie Langtry (1853–1929), herald the second-floor art gallery at the Jersey Museum. Born Emilie Charlotte Le­Breton, daughter of a dean of Jersey, she married a wealthy widower, Edward Langtry, at the age of 21. They moved to London where she led the field in fashion and, on becoming the semi-official mistress of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), the talk of the town. The portraits by Sir John Everett Millais, also a Jersey native, and Sir Edward Poynter, were both crowd-pullers at the Royal Academy in 1878 – a year after she had become the Prince of Wales’ mistress. Lillie went on to become a highly successful actress – the first society woman to go on the stage. She took up American citizenship in 1897, divorced her husband, remarried and bought a ranch in California. She died in Monte Carlo and is buried in the graveyard in the church of St Saviour with the rest of her family.

The king’s coat of arms can be seen above the entrance of the Royal Court, the island’s court of justice, on the south side of the square. On 8 May 1945 the bailiff of Jersey stood on the balcony here in front of a seething mass of islanders and relayed Churchill’s message that the Channel Islands were to be freed. The States Chamber, Jersey’s Parliament, stands to the left of the Royal Court. If you look carefully at the paving stones in the west half of the square you will see a large ‘V’ for Victory, which was secretly inscribed by a local stonemason while relaying the flagstones during the latter stages of the Occupation. Discovery of such acts of subversion would often lead to deportation, and he hid the ‘V’ under a layer of sand. The letters ‘EGA’ and ‘1945’ were later added to commemorate the arrival of the Swedish Red Cross Ship, SS Vega. Both occupiers and islanders by this stage were near starvation but it was only civilians who were allowed the parcels from the ship. The Germans just...

Table of contents

• 10 Things Not To Miss
• A Perfect Day In Jersey
• Overview
• History and Culture
• Out and About
• Things To Do
• Food and Drink
• Where To Eat
• A–Z Travel Tips
• Where To Stay