Guernsey is surrounded by beaches of different shapes and sizes, but which are best suited to families, surfers or those wanting peace and privacy?
MOST coastal resorts have a grand total of one beach for seaside-lovers to luxuriate on. For obvious reasons, islands tend to have more. Guernsey has about 25.
As an added bonus, they come in many different forms, from long sandy sweeps, ideal for playing on, to tiny intimate coves, where there is generally sand at low tide but pebbles at the top. The beauty of these is the very fact that they are not so much fun for active types - so those who want to do nothing more than laze and read a book can do so in peace.
For once, St Peter Port is not the place to start.
While it does have a sizeable stretch of sand, at Havelet Bay, it is very flat, so would-be swimmers have to wade out some considerable distance, just to get their knees wet.
Then there are the open-air bathing pools at La Vallette, which have a certain atmosphere, even if they aren’t actually beaches.
So let’s begin just to the south, with Soldiers Bay. This is reached from a cliff path with utterly peaceful trees and wild plants, then down a steep flight of steps.
The top of the beach is pebbly, while below the half-tide mark comes shingle and sand.
Because of its relative inaccessibility, Soldiers is usually quiet. Its name comes from the fact that it is below Fort George, the headquarters of the garrison when Guernsey had a resident force of the British Army and, therefore, the handy place for the military to swim.
If you go there today, take a few provisions because there are no facilities at all.
Next up, a 15-minute ramble along the cliffs, is Fermain Bay. This is like a larger version of Soldiers, with a similar pebbles and sand arrangement.
There is a road down to the bay - but you can’t drive down it.
Until a few year ago, there was a boat service from St Peter Port, which made for a fun day out.
Today, the hire cars which make roaming the island so much easier, and which ultimately put paid to the ferry, have to be parked some distance away.
Fermain has a magical atmosphere - a sense of having made your own discovery. There is a cafe and toilets at the bottom of the hill.
Moving further south, we come to Petit Port, a deep stretch of pure sand.
This is at the bottom of hundreds of steps, which are currently closed due to subsidence.
Moulin Huet, though, is easily accessible, with car parks halfway down the hill. There is still a steep five-minute walk to the beach, but what a beach it is. This was one of Renoir’s favourite haunts when he visited Guernsey, as much for the splendour of the cliffs as for the swimming.
There is a cafe with an enchanting garden just above the beach and there are toilets in the car park further up.
If you want to laze on the beach, Moulin Huet (’moulon wet’) is best at half tide and below, as the sea covers the best part when it when it comes up. The bay is rugged, with beautiful sand lower down.
Saints Bay is broadly similar, an enchanting little place with a fishermen’s harbour to one side. Parking here is on the roadside and it is a fairly strenuous walk down the hill - or back up.
There is a kiosk with outdoor seating and toilets.
On to Petit Bot (petty boe).
Again, pebbles at the top and sand further down. Like Saints and Moulin Huet, this has a wonderful atmosphere.
There is a tea-room at the bottom of the hill with seating indoors and out, plus toilets.
If you’re lucky, you can park nearby. When it is busier, you’re in for a bit of a walk.
The remainder of the south coast cliffs have spectacular scenery, but there are no accessible bays until we come to Portelet.
This is a charming, sandy beach with a working harbour, so you can watch the fishermen coming and going.
There is good swimming at all stages of the tide. Access and parking are excellent and there is a kiosk with outside seating and toilets.
Portelet is at the southern end of Rocquaine Bay (’Rockain’), which involves a number of parts, including Fort Grey (the Cup and Saucer).
With high walls at its back and no purpose-built facilities, much of the bay, although a special area for local families, is not an obvious place for a day at the beach.
Until, that is, you get around to L’Eree (’le-ray’), with its wide expanse of fine sand. The tide goes out a long way here, but the presence of a bank of low rocks with seaweed and pools from halfway down makes for interesting times for youngsters. All the facilities are here, too.
Next stop is Vazon. It is Guernsey’s surfing Mecca, where people with boards and (depending on the season) wetsuits can be found riding the waves. Long and deep with superb sand, it is also excellent for swimming and playing.
Vazon has full facilities including a very popular cafe with outside seating, which is a rendezvous for the island’s motorbiking contingent on Sunday mornings.
There is also a good restaurant across the road.
Further north, Cobo (’Coe-boe’)has many devotees among locals and visitors, with its smooth sand, facilities and, importantly for some, a pub, hotel restaurant and shops close by.
Neighbouring Grandes Rocques (’Grand Rock’) is a real family beach with sand, rock pools and all the facilities.
Port Soif (’Port Swof’) offers excellent swimming at high tide and a sheltered tea garden with facilities.
Next is Portinfer, aficionados of which nowadays are mainly surfers due to the waves. Swimming is good at low tide but there is a testing stretch of rocks to contend with before you get there. No facilities.
Port Grat (’Port Grah’) is wonderful at high tide, fascinating in the middle and sandy again at the bottom.
There are no facilities, but it is a two-minute walk across the headland to the kiosk and small seated area at Rousse (’Rooss”). This is part of Grand Havre (’Grand Harv’), which, like Rocquaine, has a number of elements. Rousse has a stone pier favoured by youngsters.
The bay is also home to many fishing boats (Grand Havre means big harbour), as is Les Amarreurs on the opposite side.
It has facilities and a children’s playground, with access to the refreshments trailer at Ladies Bay.
This is a two-part sandy beach, with the Chouet (’Chew-eh”) half being further along.
There are full facilities and Chouet has both a kiosk and a cafe/restaurant.
At the northern end of the island is L’Ancresse Bay (’Lang-cress’), which is also divided into two, with Pembroke being the western part.
These splendid beaches are wide, flat, deep and sandy and again, both have full facilities. L’Ancresse is the home of Guernsey’s original 18-hole golf course.
From here it is around to Bordeaux (Baw-doe’), a harbour with a small beach and full facilities a couple of minutes’ walk away.
Then we go through The Bridge at St Sampson’s, a bustling shopping area. Although there is no actual bridge here, the name comes from the fact that, at one time, the northern tip of Guernsey was divided from the main part by the sea and this was a place to cross.
As we head back to St Peter Port, we skirt Belle Greve Bay (’Bell-grave’), which has sandy areas but is not generally used for bathing.
And then we’re there.
You could try a different beach every day, although most of us quickly adopt a favourite.
The other benefit of having beaches all around is that, if there is a bit of a breeze, you can try somewhere on the other side, where it is not blowing straight in. Nothing is more than 20 minutes’ drive away.
Here’s a list of the island’s beaches, sorted by location:
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