HERM    Sunday 23^rd August

 

We left on the 10.15 ferry from St Peters’ Port on Trident and the 20 minute ride cost £12 each return. We stood out front in the sun.

 What a lovely place Herm is! You can see it is a well loved and looked after island and we passed some of the people maintaining it today- someone collecting rubbish and another mowing the path ways. Despite this it has areas of different character and terrain. We walked around the coast path which is approximately 3 miles, sometimes hilly and rocky but always with lovely views out to sea. Some of the walk was quite challenging with narrow, close to edge paths. We took a clockwise route past the camp site with few facilities it is almost wild camping. We met a family of 6 later from Guernsey who camp here every summer holiday and really love it.

 

Shell Beach was a bit disappointing in that it had few shells but it was a good place to swim and some brave older people were in the water which they said was warmer than the outside air, though this would only have been because of the wind.

 

The path climbed near here, with some steps and through bracken and some exotic looking plants. We passed a burial chamber and then the back of the campsite where children were swinging in the pine trees. Despite there being quite a few people on the small island it somehow seemed to absorb them and we weren’t among crowds at all. The next bit was exerting and the wind had dropped with the sun hot on our backs. There were plenty of butterflies, common blues among them and we found unusual feathers with orange- brown markings near the tip. We watched several kestrels hunting. Further along there is a nature reserve for nesting Puffins (June) but there is no sign of them now.

 

We needed to catch the 12.35 boat in order to make the most of the best weather and cycle some of Guernsey. We hurried past the large building of the White House Hotel which we heard had no telephones, clocks or televisions and was quite old fashioned. It sounds lovely to me! At the quay children were tomb-stoning into the sea. We made the boat easily as it was late leaving with all the campsite” luggage” – tents, stoves, gas bottles, inflatables etc. which took  up the front of the boat so we sat inside.

 

We arrived back for a quick lunch around 1pm and got ready for a quick bike ride but instead ended up cycling right round Guernsey, making the most of the fine weather.