WITH its steady winds blowing across crystal-clear waters and endless supply of dramatic, craggy-cliffed coves that harbour secret beaches, Guernsey is a sailor’s dream.
The Bailiwick has a seafaring heritage that goes back almost as far as human history— it is believed that people first travelled here by boat, possibly as early as 4000BC. Guernsey’s strategic position in the English Channel, less than 30 miles from Normandy, allowed it to benefit from seaborne trade—in the 17th century, privateering became a key source of income. Today, the boating scene is, thankfully, less bloodthirsty.
The Bailiwick is made up of eight islands, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm, and the smaller islets of Brecqhou, Jethou, Burhou and Lihou. Archipelagos make the best destinations for boating holidays, providing a menu of islands to explore, anchorages to suit different weather conditions and plenty of adventures. I’ve sailed all over the world and I’d say this area is a perfect cross between the seascapes of the Bahamas and Sardinia, with the same laid-back ambience of Greece. Add good seafood (the ormer mollusc is a sought-after local delicacy), the kind of wildlife you might spot in Scandinavia—think puffins and seals—and fine French weather, and sailing around this Crown dependency starts to feel as fresh as travelling abroad.
Denne historien er fra August 18, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 18, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Save our family farms
IT Tremains to be seen whether the Government will listen to the more than 20,000 farming people who thronged Whitehall in central London on November 19 to protest against changes to inheritance tax that could destroy countless family farms, but the impact of the good-hearted, sombre crowds was immediate and positive.
A very good dog
THE Spanish Pointer (1766–68) by Stubbs, a landmark painting in that it is the artist’s first depiction of a dog, has only been exhibited once in the 250 years since it was painted.
The great astral sneeze
Aurora Borealis, linked to celestial reindeer, firefoxes and assassinations, is one of Nature's most mesmerising, if fickle displays and has made headlines this year. Harry Pearson finds out why
'What a good boy am I'
We think of them as the stuff of childhood, but nursery rhymes such as Little Jack Horner tell tales of decidedly adult carryings-on, discovers Ian Morton
Forever a chorister
The music-and way of living-of the cabaret performer Kit Hesketh-Harvey was rooted in his upbringing as a cathedral chorister, as his sister, Sarah Sands, discovered after his death
Best of British
In this collection of short (5,000-6,000-word) pen portraits, writes the author, 'I wanted to present a number of \"Great British Commanders\" as individuals; not because I am a devotee of the \"great man, or woman, school of history\", but simply because the task is interesting.' It is, and so are Michael Clarke's choices.
Old habits die hard
Once an antique dealer, always an antique dealer, even well into retirement age, as a crop of interesting sales past and future proves
It takes the biscuit
Biscuit tins, with their whimsical shapes and delightful motifs, spark nostalgic memories of grandmother's sweet tea, but they are a remarkably recent invention. Matthew Dennison pays tribute to the ingenious Victorians who devised them
It's always darkest before the dawn
After witnessing a particularly lacklustre and insipid dawn on a leaden November day, John Lewis-Stempel takes solace in the fleeting appearance of a rare black fox and a kestrel in hot pursuit of a pipistrelle bat
Tarrying in the mulberry shade
On a visit to the Gainsborough Museum in Sudbury, Suffolk, in August, I lost my husband for half an hour and began to get nervous. Fortunately, an attendant had spotted him vanishing under the cloak of the old mulberry tree in the garden.
