From castles to coppersmiths, bunkers and buildings made of seashells, a walking tour of Guernsey is full of surprises
ROBERT DE NIRO.’ ‘Who?’ ‘robert De Niro! He’s in the greenhouse. He follows you everywhere.’
I was intrigued. I marched to the back of Sausmarez Manor, the gardens of which I was visiting and, sure enough, there he was, smiling that inescapable De Niro smile. Colin Firth was right behind him, although his arm was horribly broken and I think a dog had chewed his ear.
They were cardboard cutouts, of course, but by this point, my second day on the deliciously deciduous island of Guernsey, I had been so surprised by the amount of history and culture that I was willing to take nothing for granted.
I’d landed in a field the previous evening and been graciously picked up by the ever-present island taxis for the transfer to Les Douvres, my base in St Martins and an ideal spot for those looking to hike around the magnificent cliffs of the island’s south coast. More on them later. the driver was an effervescent individual who, without even a hint of encouragement, delivered his entire life story to me in an aural barrage of which Tchaikovsky would have been proud. Weeks later, I met up with friends who happened to have grown up on the island and was informed that Guernsey cabbies are notorious for their friendliness and storytelling. The silence of the metropolitan Uber has no place here —and long may it last!
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