COASTLINE WALKS OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS - 100 miles
ABOUT THE WALKS AND STORY -
My mother came from Weymouth and in my childhood days I often stayed there with my grandparents. On one trip we boarded a ferry to Guernsey and one of my father’s cherished photographs is of me, aged seven, walking along Shell Beach on Herm Island. I recall nothing of the trip but years later when I visited Herm for this book, I met an old man who seemed to be clairvoyant. He inquired if I had been before and I told him I had. He asked my surname and said he remembered seeing me, forty years ago! He remarked my father, who had signed the hotel register, liked barbecues and I had sister; all of which was true! He also said I had two other sisters. This was indeed true, I have only recent discovered them! I left him to paint the wrought iron surround of a solitary grave, stunned by his foresight.
The idea of exploring the Channel Islands for my island walk series, lay on a shelf gathering dust for eight years. Then when the foot and mouth crisis curtailed walking on the U.K. mainland, I pulled the file out. The result is this book! My aim was simple to spend a week on Guernsey based at St. Peter Port, to make full use of its efficient island bus service. I would also be perfectly placed to catch the various ferries to the smaller islands. The weather proved blisteringly hot and no walkers about! The plan was to walk clockwise around - anti clockwise is the devils way - Guernsey - 3 days and 42 miles. Then an individual day each, walking around Herm, Sark and Alderney. A spare day was kept in reserve in case the ferries were not working. Thankfully. everything went to plan and with the spare day I used to walk across Guernsey and across the causeway to the island of Lihou - only open for a two hour period each day. The result was a magical week.
On my last day I had secured a flight - 15 minutes - to Alderney at 8.0a.m. and returning at 5.50 p.m. This left me plenty of time to catch the ferry back to Weymouth at 9. 50 p.m. As you will see from the exploits later in the text, it did not go to plan! Low mist covered Alderney and the flight finally left at 2.0 p.m - 6 hours late. I walked at top speed around the island - 10 miles - before catching the 5.50 p.m. flight back.
It was worth it; the coast and beaches are stunning, but little did ] know what the remainder of the day had in store!
I enjoyed very much the magic of island hopping - the definition of an island is having enough grass on it to sustain one sheep for a year There are over 1,000 islands off the coast of Britain and I have, so far, walked around more than half of them! I hope the sun shines as you walk along the cliffs and beaches of the Channel Islands, but do not experience delays because of technical problems.
A5 Guide, placed in a plastic wrap around cover and signed by John Merrill.
Special embroidered circular cloth badge and signed certificate from John Merrill, for successful walkers.
Names added to me Walkers Roll of Honour page.