An Unexpected Adventure: A Journey Through Jersey Island
The decision to visit the island of Jersey was a serendipitous one, sparked by a constellation of enticing factors: the absence of visa requirements, a mere hour-long flight from London, and the availability of affordable flights via Easyjet. Eschewing the notion of meticulous preparation, I packed my camera, phone, and money, and embarked on my journey, securing a reservation at a hotel in Saint Helier, the island's capital. My plan was simple: upon landing in the morning, I would hail a taxi and head straight to Plemont Beach, bypassing the hotel. This beach, renowned for its golden sands, picturesque cliffs, and secluded location, was a haven for children and, as it is well-known, adults too find such places irresistible.
The flight was uneventful, and upon arrival on the island, I hailed a taxi and instructed the driver to take me to Plemont Beach. I had ample time before check-in at the hotel, so my plan was to relax on the beach and then catch a bus to Saint Helier. After a 15-20 minute drive, we arrived at our destination.
Upon exiting the taxi and surveying the surroundings, I noticed that the location was indeed secluded, with only a few houses visible in the distance. The landscape was dominated by picturesque cliffs and a crystal-clear sea. With the weather being perfect, the beach was supposed to be nestled at the foot of the cliffs, which is where I headed.
However, upon descending, I was unpleasantly surprised by the absence of the anticipated beach. "Excuse me... where's the beach? Where are the children? Where's the sand?" I thought to myself. I couldn't see it, unlike the fish.
Plemont Beach. Jersey. Channel Islands.
Thus, I was confronted with an unpleasant reality: I should have checked the tide schedule before heading to Jersey. That day, the tide was 11 meters, which is quite typical for the island, known for having some of the highest tides in the world. As I descended towards the sea, I encountered signs reading "Extreme Danger!" - a warning I couldn't ignore. "Don't go there – a rock might fall on your head!" the warning seemed to say. It turns out that children, as we know, are "flowers of life", but sometimes these flowers can be treacherous and dangerous. Although drowning them and then pelting them with stones seems a bit excessive.
Realizing that a beach day was not in the cards for that day, I decided to return to the top and explore the surroundings.
Alright, I thought, it's time to do something and get out of here. The taxi had long since left, but a bus was supposed to arrive in 10 minutes... it was supposed to... it definitely was supposed to.
However, the bus stop looked suspiciously abandoned, devoid of signs and indicators. My phone was also reluctant to connect to the internet to check the bus schedule, and to make matters worse, it was roaming, depriving me of my usual 4G or even 3G. Nevertheless, I decided to wait.
Time passed, but the bus never arrived. I began to harbour vague doubts - perhaps this bus only operates in the summer and doesn't reach this far during the rest of the year. Eventually, I thought: "To hell with the bus and the phone! The weather is good, I'll go wherever my eyes lead." The only decision left was where exactly they were leading: left or right.
To the right were cliffs, a trail, and some ruins reminiscent of an abandoned Soviet sanatorium. To the left, there were also cliffs and a trail, but no ruins. Therefore, my eyes were leading me to the left, and I set off in that direction.
The road meandered along the coast, and, casting one last glance at the descent to the submerged beach, I continued on my way, hoping to discover new amazing places on the island of Jersey.
Continuing my walk along the trail, I stopped from time to time to take photographs. I found it curious that benches were installed along the road, despite the rather wild terrain. The peculiarity of these benches was that they were located precisely in those places where one would want to stop and capture the views for posterity. Noticing this fact, I started using it to my advantage: when I saw a bench ahead, I started preparing my camera for shooting, and, indeed, as I approached the spot with my camera ready, I took a shot and moved on to the next bench.
About an hour and a half later, a strange structure appeared on the horizon. What could it be? A lighthouse? It didn't quite look like one. Upon reaching it, I realized that it was an old German observation tower. It was abandoned, but its concrete structure looked almost new.
Meanwhile, examining the photograph of the tower, I noticed something strange on the cliffs below. The coast had become even steeper, and the water even more turbulent, and there was a human figure down below. He was sitting at the water's edge, drying a fishing rod or something. Questions started to arise: who's to blame and what to do?
Recalling how people often ended up cut off from the shore, misjudging the speed of the incoming tide, I concluded that he was to blame himself. His options for escape were limited: the cliffs were steep, it was dangerous to go into the water, and I couldn't help him. Moreover, contacting anyone was impossible; the phone wasn't working, and I didn't know where I was.
In the distance, I noticed a boat that seemed to be waiting near the man in case he needed help. Considering all the options, I decided to continue on my way, hoping that the boat would be able to help the man if he needed rescue. Or, at the very least, retrieve the fishing rod if he decided to go into the water – it would be a shame to waste it!
Saint Ouen. Jersey. Channel Islands.
Saint Ouen. Jersey. Channel Islands.
And so, I continued my adventure along the coast, enjoying the nature and the views that were opening up before me.
But the most important thing was that he would only have to sit there for six hours. After that, the tide would go out, and he could leave as freely as he had come. In the end, I decided not to do anything and move on.
Half an hour later, after walking along the shore, the next scene unfolded around the bend: Houses! Civilization! I was saved! After a little more walking along the path, I could enjoy the view of the beach that appears at low tide. I don't know the name of this town, but I think that since there are people and buildings here, it shouldn't be difficult to find a bus or taxi.
But first, since I had made it this far, I decided to go down to the beach.
L'Etacq. Jersey. Channel Islands.
And, after wandering around the beach a bit, I finally decided to find transportation. It turned out that this task was not as simple as I had initially thought.
Thus, the search for transportation continued. The town I had reached, in essence, consisted of a single road stretching for many kilometres along the beach with houses on both sides. The road was not too busy with cars, but there were no sidewalks or anything similar, so I had to walk practically on the roadway. Moreover, from time to time it was squeezed between two fences. In general, although there were few cars, walking was not very comfortable.
I didn't find any hints of bus stops, and I hadn't seen any taxis yet.
Nevertheless, not having any better ideas, I continued walking through this town, thinking about how nice it would be right now in my five-star hotel in Saint Helier, which is called the Grand Hotel (I think it's the only 5* on the island). The choice of this hotel was quite random and was mainly based on its location: on the one hand, it was on the first line by the sea, on the other hand, it was in the capital of the island, which is a transport hub for all bus routes. Since the price was not much higher than in other 3* and 4* hotels, I decided to stay there. But at the moment, it was far away, and I could walk to it for another day and a half of my short journey. And then an opportunity presented itself.
The opportunity came in the form of a police car parked on the side of the road and a local policeman talking on the phone inside the car. Just what I needed! I'll ask you about local bus stops or taxi stands. In response to my question about a taxi or bus stop (at the word "taxi" he suspiciously smiled as if I wanted something unusual in such a wilderness), instead of directions, I was offered a ride to the local stop.
That's how this part of the adventure ended. After arriving at the stop and waiting for my 12th bus, after an hour's journey, I finally checked into the hotel.
Of course, in terms of quality, the hotel, alas, lived up to the best English traditions. Apparently, the hotel got its 5 stars for the pool and a Michelin-starred restaurant, but everything else was at the level of English guest houses. Nevertheless, there was a place to stay, and as Bear Grylls says, it's better than nothing.
I decided to spend the rest of the evening strolling around Saint Helier. Opposite it is a castle, which, as far as I heard, should be accessible on foot at low tide, and turns into an island at high tide. However, I didn't understand these tides and assumed that if there was a high tide in the morning, there should be a low tide in the evening. However, going out to the promenade, I saw that there was no road to the castle - it had disappeared, drowned. So all that was left was to take a couple of photos of the castle from afar and make plans for tomorrow.
For tomorrow, the plan was to visit the town of Saint Brelade with, perhaps, the most famous beach on the island and visit the lighthouse, also known for its beautiful rocky views during low tide and located at the very southwestern tip of the island.
Saint Brelade. Jersey.
Saint Brelade. Jersey.
Saint Brelade. Jersey.
But as usual, life made its adjustments. In the end, the next day, I visited Saint Brelade's beach and La Corbiere lighthouse. In the morning at the hotel reception, I asked about how best to get to the lighthouse, but to my surprise, the hotel worker didn't know about it and couldn't provide a modern map of the island.
In the end, I just got on the nearest bus, which, as it seemed to me, was going in the right direction. Once on Saint Brelade's beach, I spent a few hours there, enjoying the colourful views and the low tide. Then I used a mobile app to call a taxi, which transmitted the GPS coordinates to the taxi driver and headed to the airport with a small stop at the lighthouse.
La Corbiere. Lighthouse. Jersey. Channel Islands.
So, without any special adventures, I ended up at the airport, where I encountered a surprising sight: bags of potatoes were being sold in duty-free! It turns out, some sort of local potato is their pride, and every traveler, apparently, is considered obliged to buy a couple of kilograms. So in the duty-free on Jersey, you can see pre-packaged bags of potatoes, which seems quite unusual.
In conclusion, my short trip to the island of Jersey turned out to be rich and interesting, despite some unforeseen circumstances and funny moments.
