The Isle of Jersey
By Jennifer Milano, traveled July 2023
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands
After five long days of hiking England’s Coast-to-Coast trail in the Lake District, we deserved some R&R. Since reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society years ago, I had been intrigued by the Channel Islands. We decided to spend our R&R on Jersey rather than Guernsey simply because it is larger and there seemed to be more to do, but Guernsey is still on my list. We spent our days strolling Jersey’s many beaches, visiting the WWII tunnels and learning about the German occupation of Jersey, and eating delicious meals and Jersey-cow-milk ice cream!
The tunnels used in WWII are now a museum dedicated to telling the story of the German occupation of Jersey
What to do on Jersey:
Visit the Jersey War Tunnels to learn about the German occupation of Jersey, which residents endured for five long years during World War II.
Walk during low tide to Elizabeth Castle, a fortress located on a tidal island off the coast of St. Helier
Walk down the cliffs to the beautiful Plémont Beach, off of Jersey’s north coast
Visit Woodlands Farm to see the Jersey cows grazing and treat yourself to an ice cream at the farm’s Potato Shack Cafe
Plémont Beach
The walk out at low tide to Elizabeth Castle
Elizabeth Castle flying the flag of Jersey
Deliciously creamy gelato from The Potato Shack Cafe at Woodlands Farm, made with fresh Jersey Cow milk
Where to stay on Jersey:
We spent four comfortable nights beachfront at L’Horizon Beach Hotel & Spa. We loved our breakfasts each morning, complete with glass bottles of Jersey cow milk. We enjoyed cocktails at the bar overlooking the beach every evening before going out for dinner. Despite the windy weather, we used the hotel’s lounge chairs on the beach, and because I can’t resist an ocean swim (or at least a dip), I braved the frigid English Channel and jumped into the waves.
Where to eat on Jersey:
Oyster Box, right in St. Brelade’s Bay near our hotel, was very good, but not our favorite dinner of the trip.
Portelet Bay Cafe serves passable pizza on dirty picnic tables seaside.
Bass and Lobster was excellent, and worth the drive.
Mark Jordan at the Beach was also very good.
Woodlands Farm Potato Shack Cafe has very good ice cream.
My takeaway: We enjoyed our leisure time on Jersey, and I am glad we went. I was happy with our hotel and most of our meals. But, in my honest opinion, there are so many incredible places in the world to visit, and life is short. If you have a chance to spend a few summer days on Jersey, great. But it’s not a bucket list destination.
