Herm

I am lying on my bed typing this with a bright red sunburned face. The weather today was stunning. We left early again and dropped into the information centre for a stickybeak before booking our day trip to Herm, a small island near Guernsey. We took the 10.30am ferry, climbing down the perilous steps to the boat, and enjoyed an extremely windy 20-minute trip to Herm, with views of the next-door private island, Jethou. You can walk the perimeter of Herm in about two hours, and 66 people live on the island (pretty much all of them work on the island). There is a hotel, a campsite and holiday cottages, a couple of pubs and cafes, gift shops, an 11th century chapel, and a multitude of beautiful beaches and coastline to enjoy. There is even a school (with 8 pupils), a tiny prison, and a fire brigade on the islands.

We walked from Rosaire's steps to Shell Beach, across sunny, windswept moors with Neolithic graves and extremely noisy coastal birds. We stopped for Herm vanilla ice cream and sat on the beach soaking in the sun. I nearly fell asleep. Marnie got up to dip her feet in the English Channel and they went numb straight away, so don't let the pics fool you into thinking it might be anything but freezing! We kept walking, around the coast to Belvoir Bay and then up through the middle of the island to The Manor village with the ancient St Tugual's Chapel. Then it was time for lunch. We wandered back to where we had come from and ate at the Mermaid Tavern. I bought a couple of books on Herm from the gift shops and then it was home-time. I felt almost sun-drunk. We took the ferry back to Guernsey at 2.35pm. Herm is a must see for anyone visiting Guernsey, and I really hope to be back one day.

Herm

Herm

Shell Beach

Shell Beach

Belvoir Bay

Herm

St Tugual's Chapel

Herm

We took a long walk along St Peter Port when we got back, all the way to Castle Cornet. We waited around in the gift shop until after 4pm, because then entry to the castle (which includes 5 museums) was only a pound. It was a wonderfully preserved medieval castle, but I think I was too tired to properly appreciate it. Nonetheless, I had a good look around the Maritime Museum and got some great views from the top of the castle. Maybe I'll go back one day with more time and energy. We dragged ourselves home after that - we've done a whole lot of walking over the last few weeks, but it does feel good - and are now lying on our beds watching Toy Story 2. Early night tonight, I think.