Channel Islands: Jersey

Jersey!!! (I climbed that).

Jersery is the largest of the Channel Islands, measuring in at a whooping 119.5 km² (thanks wikipedia!). Fun fact, when I first heard the names Guersey and Jersey for the Channel Island I thought to myself 'he, I never knew if I should call a sporting top a Guernsey or a Jersey'. This is because I constantly heard both being used as I was growing up to describe sporting tops but never knew which was correct. 

Gemma got bored during my hunt for the origin of the Jersey and Guernsey, so she went and got an icecream for breakfast. Crazy Brits.

Now, 10 to 15 years on, curiously, I come across two islands right next to each other that share the same name. Coincidence? Surely not. In the 15th century (or so) these two islands were famous for their woolen knitted sweaters. Jersey made jerseys and Guernsey made Guernsey. Was there any discernible difference between the two back then? Probably not, but I am sure many a bar fight was started by it. Of course, this has nothing to do with sporting terms, except I now know that a 'guernsey' is worn in Aussie Rules and a jersey in pretty much every other sport. Anyway, I digress...

Gemma at Elizabeth Castle

Jersey gave us bright sunshine, so we made the most of it by checking out the beaches and climbing on the rocks. We waited for the tide to change and, forgoing the amphibious bus/boat monstrosity,  walked along the causeway to Elizabeth Castle. 

 This may drive on land and float in the sea, but I did not trust it at all.

I got us lost as we went searching for the Jersey War tunnels. I did find out that apparently some of the Jersey locals are incredibly worried about burglars. The War tunnels were good, and described life on the island during WWII, including during the German occupation.

Its hard to see, but this fence is topped with broken glass. It was a nice house...

We spent one day driving around the island. We visited a few piers, like St Catherine's Breakwater, sort out some amazing coastal views by walking along the paths around High Cliff. I went for a brief run to the highest point on the island and came face-to-face with a radar dish. 

View from Les Platons, the highest point in Jersey.

Gemma and I also tried to find Leicester tower by had no success. Our final destination was the Devil's Hole.

The Devil's Hole.

This is a natural blowhole in a cliff. Supposedly, it got its name supposedly from a shipwreck in the area. The figure head washed up into the crater and a local sculptor worked the figurehead into a statue of the devil, a replica of which has been erected by the Hole.

 The Devil (looks lonely)

On our final evening we ended at a pub that gave a sense of deja vu for some reason.