Last of Guernsey and heading out for Jersey Tuesday 25^th August

 

We gave breakfast a miss and had cereal in cheap camping bowls sitting in our room. It was exceedingly wet outside and a lovely cooked breakfast might have cheered us up but we had decided because of the time of the boat, to have dinner at midday. We had really enjoyed our stay here though- it was relaxed though of high standard. We packed up the tandem and left around 10, which was late for us.

 

First thing we had to do was ensure Bob had some clothes for the rest of the holiday. We were quite happy to wait for his washing to “cook” in the warm and dry Laundrette and the uninhibited young man in there bombarded us with questions about our life and cheeky comments which kept us entertained.

It was still pelting with rain when we came out and we made it up the hill then spotted a hotel. Maybe they did morning coffee. They gave us some anyway and we stayed 2 hours more having a roast dinner each before we left. With a vague idea that the sky looked a bit brighter we set off for the Little Chapel riding on the little lanes whenever possible.

 

 

 

 

 

It sits on a bank beside Blanchelande Girl’s College at Les Vauxbelets and was created by Brother Deodat in 1914, aspiring to be a miniature of the Grotto and Basilica at Lourdes. As we rode down the lane towards it, it was impossible not to smile at this colourful chapel decorated with broken bits of china, shells and small stones. When you came closer there were mosaic pictures and patterns of colour. Even though it is undergoing some much needed restoration this doesn’t detract from its fairytale quality. It had stairs down and nooks and crannies inside which belied the apparent size from outside it. We were amazed this was made by just one man.

 

We rode by the airport( several times) looking for a National Trust property, Les Caches, that we’d seen on a video at the Folk Museum. We found it but because it was on private land and there was no sign outside we assumed it wasn’t open to the public. Later we found out that it was closed till May 2016 for redevelopment. It would have been nice to have been told this at the Folk Museum!

 

Back at St Peter Port we visited Castle Cornet to while away the last of our time on Guernsey. Bob had a text from the ferry company to say that our boat to Jersey was delayed by 25 minutes. Normally £10, the admission tickets to the castle are reduced after 4 pm as it closes at 5, so it made sense to wait on the 15 minutes or so. The sun was out in earnest now and the sea looked calm. I sat down to write a postcard and suddenly the wind whipped it out of my hand. Unfortunately I’d stuck the stamp on. We eventually found it high in a gutter. It took a bit of ingenuity from an attendant who retrieved it by stacking stools on one another and climbing up. Despite all the previous rain it was none the worse for it and he enjoyed the challenge!

 

The castle looks to me from a distance to be made of concrete and with the middle keep section taken off it gives it a very boring outline. It was the official residence of the Governor of the island. The keep housed gunpowder that blew up when struck by lightning in 1672 taking with it the lives of the governor’s wife and mother among others. There are well documented exhibits. The buildings are much more interesting up close and evocative of a bygone era. We could see Herm and Sark. The Clipper, our ferry was just arriving so we thought it was time for us to leave.

 

It took ages for the boat to unload and as the only bike we were waiting with the cars. Several people had been waiting for the ferry yesterday when it couldn’t dock because of a cruise ship taking its place in the quay and they were trying again today. Despite being asked to move and threats of huge fines the captain wouldn’t budge and caused the ferry to go on to Poole without passengers disembarking or taking on people for Jersey. Quite a fiasco!

 

We were sent on the boat after the lorries but before the cars and the bike had a small space on the lorry deck. It was many stairs to the passenger deck which unlike the Liberation had tables and comfy chairs. In sunshine and slightly choppy seas we set off but the roll was less than from Poole to Guernsey and we stood outside in the sun for some while.

 

It would take around 2 hours , counting getting off the boat, which seemed a rather protracted affair. We had to wait to be taken down to the tandem by someone who hardly spoke 2 words of English and after a lift ride we were hustled into a people carrier with no explanation. Eventually with a full car of foot passengers he took us down a ramp and let us out at the place where we found the bike. By the time we were ready to leave all the harbour personnel had gone and we were in danger of being squashed by lorries. It was dark and disorientating. We eventually found the way out but then the streets of St Hellier, in the town centre, are all one way and we weren’t sure where to go to the hotel. A kind lady heard us talking and helped us, along with another passerby which helped ease the unwelcome feeling we’d been having. It wasn’t far out of the main centre and we found our hotel, another Great Western, where the tandem went in a gated car park. Here we had a four poster bed, a huge heart shaped bath and a balcony!