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About Jersey - Activities
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| Walking |
Put your best foot forward and open up new horizons
“Here we had the green or rocky slope on one side of us and on the other the calm sea stretching to the coast of France… Jersey is one labyrinth of delicious roads and lanes.” GEORGE ELIOT (author).
Jersey’s natural beauty has changed little George Eliot was inspired to write about it. Walking through the Island’s winding, tree dappled country lanes remains a great way to get to the heart of the place. You’ll enjoy open fields, woodland, cliffs and headland, small country lanes, trees and hedgerows. Inland wooded valleys contrast with spectacular coastal paths, secluded coves are tucked into the base of cliffs that rise 400 feet from the sea.
Jersey’s 45-mile network of ‘green lanes’ give walkers, cyclists and horse riders priority and speed is limited to 15 miles an hour. All but two parishes have designated green lanes, identifiable by the distinctive road sign.
Alone, or with the helpful and knowledgeable Blue Badge guides, you can meander through a quiet, sun-filled network of highways and byways and stumble upon spectacular coastal vistas, hidden valleys, trickling streams, and ancient monuments.
Moon Walks
Jersey has one of the biggest tides in the world and when it goes out the Island grows by up to a third, uncovering a vast and unique habitat. Low water walks are led by local marine biologist Andrew Syvret, a man with a passion for all things watery, and a easy and friendly way of imparting his considerable knowledge. Less a walk than an experience, the Moon Walk takes you two miles out to sea, following the falling tide through the gutters and gullies of the dramatic low tide landscape. Held when the influence of the moon on our coastal waters is at its strongest, each ‘Moon Walk’ is a truly unique adventure, offering a wonderful immersion in Jersey’s rich marine life and maritime culture.
Wellingtons are essential. Be prepared to get wet to the knee (and sometimes higher!) as you discover intertidal lagoons, saltwater rivers on the beach, sand banks, reefs, wave cut platforms, gullies, boulder fields and tidal flats, surrounded by an incredible array of fascinating animals and plants.
Why not enjoy a night time Moon Walk as the moonlit landscape of Jersey’s south east coast is both startlingly beautiful and eerie. This is a very special event and you won’t fail to be impressed and delighted.
Moon Walks are strictly limited to a maximum of 25 people and pre-booking is essential. Cost: £10 per adult for each walk, under 16’s free.
Contact: Andrew Syvret
Tel + 44 (0) 1534 485201
Email: andrew@seajersey.com
Ghost Walks
Are the deep shadows cast by the full moon just the trees? Look more closely… you’re being watched! Explore the unexplained at some of Jersey’s most hair raising haunted sites. Your ghoulish spirit guide takes you on creepy crawl through the realm of the dead. The deeper you go into the darkness the harder it is to escape. Tickets: Approx £5.00.
Numbers are limited so booking is essential on these walks, however due to the huge popularity of these walks, Off Island bookings are available by telephone - +44 (0)1534 500777 and On Island bookings are available from 5 days before each event and should be made in person to Jersey Tourism. Telephone bookings can only be accepted for overseas visitors wishing to book in advance.
Round Island Walk
Walking immerses you in the landscape and nowhere is this more evident than in Jersey. During each 2004 walking festival, local Blue Badge guides will be your hosts for a five-day trek that takes in every inch of the coastline - from beach, to spectacular headland, past towers, castles and ancient burial chambers. The full Round Island Walk is 48.1 miles, and covers approximately 9.5 miles a day. You can choose to do the entire five day trek (and receive a certificate of achievement!) or simply join a particular day.
Keen walkers in search of a real challenge may like to have a go at walking around the Island in one fell swoop. Every year Islanders and visitors join together to walk around the Island’s 48.1 miles of coastline for charity. This year’s Itex Walk took place on 19th June, when more than a thousand people gathered at 3 am to set off eastwards. The walk takes between 12 and 21 hours, depending on your pace and level of fitness. There are thirteen checkpoints around the Island including two refreshment stops for a rest and a drink, and your belongings are transported from checkpoint to checkpoint for you.
The event isn’t about completing the course – many bow out gracefully at various points along the route – but about each participant achieving their personal best. Friendships are forged as strangers walk together and share the agony (blisters and aching muscles) and the ecstasy (sun rise over the sparkling sea, bacon butties with a view over the bay towards France). This is a walk you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
For further information on the Itex Walk contact:
Tel + 44 (0) 1534 633635.
Website: www.itex.je/walk
Walking in Jersey 2006
What better way to fully appreciate Jersey than to leave the car behind and explore on foot. Cliff paths carpeted with heather and sun-bleached dunes, ancient castles and quite country lanes, spectacular coastal vistas and hidden valleys make the island a walker’s dream.
Follow the rugged beauty of Jersey’s north coast over headlands to discover secluded fishing villages and hidden coves or head west in search of the elusive Green Lizard. Stroll through the Victorian markets of St Helier or join us on a spine chilling meander through Jersey’s ghostly past.
Explore Jersey’s 45 mile network of ‘Green Lanes’, where the pace of life slows, to discover quiet country lanes awash with flowers as you wind through wooded valleys, past wisteria-clad cottages and historic granite farmhouses.
Walking in Jersey is a voyage of discovery whatever your age, whatever your experience, so start exploring and let your adventure begin.
Guided Walking Tours 2006
Discover the various facets of Jersey on foot in a series of escorted walking tours arranged by Jersey Tourism – taking in some of Jersey’s unique history and heritage in the company of some of the Island’s most experienced Blue Badge tourist guides, these walks and tours are escorted in a leisurely yet informative manner.
Please bring suitable clothing and footwear for your walk. The guides reserve the right to refuse participation to any walker if they are not suitably attired or in the guide’s opinion feel they would be unsuitable to undertake the walk.
All persons participating in any aspect of this programme do so at their own risk and neither Jersey Tourism nor their appointed agents and guides can take responsibility for personal injury. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
All specified public bus routes are correct at time of printing and based on current information (August 2005). For updated timings and bus routes contact Connex Transport – Tel: +44 (0)1534 877772. Jersey Tourism can accept no responsibility for any subsequent alteration to bus timings and routes shown in this programme.
Walking Tickets
Morning and afternoon walks are priced at £4.00 and evening walks are £5.00 and full day walks are £6.00 per day. Tickets can be purchased from the walking guide before departure or from the Visitor Services Centre at Jersey Tourism. Children under 16 are free.
Please note that the ‘Murder, Muck and Mayhem’, ‘Harbours and Havens’ and ‘Roses with Roly’ walks are marked with an * and are not organised by Jersey Tourism. If tickets are required for these walks, they must be purchased from the organiser/walking guide and are not available from Jersey Tourism.
For those visitors wishing to participate in more than one or two walks why not purchase our weekly walking ticket priced at £10.00. This gives unlimited access to all Jersey Tourism walks and is valid for seven consecutive days from the day of purchase. Weekly walking tickets can be purchased from either your guide at the start of the walk or from Jersey Tourism.
For local residents and regular visitors, Jersey Tourism has produced a £20.00 walking season ticket, offering unlimited access to all Jersey Tourism walks throughout the season.
Season tickets are available from the Visitor Services Centre at Jersey Tourism.
Guided Walking Programme 2006
Monday
‘Cod, Smugglers and Privateers’
Meeting Point: St. Brelade’s Parish Hall, St. Aubin. (circular route)
Guide: Hugh Gill
Time: 14:30 – 17:00 hrs
Bus No: 12 or 15
Price £4.00
Dates: April 3rd – October 2nd
Easy – distance 2.5 miles (4 kilometres)
Enjoy a leisurely stroll exploring the picturesque town of St. Aubin, with its 18th century harbour. Learn of the riches gained from the sea, as the privateers counted their spoils from plundered French shipping and of the merchants and their houses in the small harbour town that grew around them.
Tuesday
‘Rozel Royal Ramble’
Meeting Point: Public Hall, St. Martin (circular route)
Guide: Tom Bunting
Time: 10:30 – 13:00 hrs
Bus No. 3 or 3a
Price £4.00
Dates: April 4th – September 26th
Medium – distance 5 miles (8 kilometres)
Explore the hidden depths of St Martin as you disappear into the beautiful tree-lined country lanes of this eastern parish and descend toward the picturesque Rozel Bay. Ramble across the rugged coast line before visiting one of the Island’s Neolithic tombs sited on the north coast headland overlooking Rozel Bay. Return through the beautiful Rozel Woods, skirting Rosel Manor, to the ancient Parish Church of St Martin and discover some of the history attached to this medieval building. This morning’s walk ends at the ‘Royal’ where you can treat yourself to a well earned drink.
Wednesday
‘Living with the Enemy – Local life during the Occupation’
Meeting Point: Gunsite Café – Beaumont.
Guide: Tom Bunting.
Time: 10:30 – 12:30 hrs
Bus No. 12 or 15.
Price: £4.00
Dates: Every Wednesday from April 12th – September 27th.
Medium – distance 4 miles (6.5 kilometres).
Take a stroll through beautiful St Peter’s Valley as you delve into life in Jersey when it was occupied in World War II. What was life like for everyday people? What did they eat? How did they know what was going on in the outside world? The walk takes you through country lanes to woodland where one can still see the original trenches built by the occupying forces before ending up at the famous Jersey War Tunnels. Visit the Gardens of Reflection or dine in the Sanctuary Restaurant (try the Occupation Cake) or explore the War Tunnels - one of Jersey’s most popular sites. (Lunch and entrance to the site at own expense).
‘Roses with Roly’*
Meeting point: Cooke’s Roses, Le Passage, St. Lawrence.
Guide: Roly Cooke
Time: 14:00 – 17:00 hrs
Bus No. 7.
Pre booking essential – Tel: 01534 863124.
Price: £6.00* (includes farmhouse tea)
Dates: Every Wednesday from April 5th – September 27th.
Easy – distance 2 miles (3.2 kilometres)
Join Britain’s most southerly rose grower on his beautiful 17th century farm for a guided tour of ancient flower meadows, bird aviaries, glasshouses and gardens. Roly, who still lives in the same house in which he was born, is a farmer and a keen horticulturalist and passionate about his award winning roses and his birds. Learn about the history of his farm and the neighbouring area on a stroll through the ‘Green Lanes’ surrounding the farm, before enjoying an afternoon farmhouse cream tea.
Roly also offers tours around the estate Monday - Saturday for groups of 10 and over for £4.00 per person.
‘Harbours and Havens’*
These FREE walks take place every Wednesday afternoon, between 14:30 – 16:00 hrs at various locations and meeting points, from June 7th – October 4th. For further information – Tel: +44 (0)1534 633300.
Take a pleasant afternoon stroll around Jersey’s tranquil harbours and havens, in the company of a Blue Badge Guide or a member of the Jersey Heritage Trust Community Learning Team. Listen to myths and legends and learn of the Island’s diverse history and of our maritime heritage.
La Rocque slipway (next to pier) June 7th & August 9th
Gorey Pier (Interpretation Centre) June 14th & August 16th
St. Catherine (slipway next to pier) June 21st & August 23rd
Rozel (slipway) June 28th & August 30th
Bouley Bay (Water's Edge Hotel) July 5th & September 6th
Grève De Lecq (Car park by tower) July 12th & September 13th
St. Brelade (War memorial by church) July 19th & September 20th
St. Aubin (slipway by Old Court House) July 26th & September 27th
Bonne Nuit (Top of slipway in car park) August 2nd & October 4th
Thursday
‘Shipping, Tides and Shellfish’
Meeting Point: Gorey bus terminus (circular route)
Guide: Sue Hardy
Time: 10:30 – 13:00 hrs
Bus No: 1
Price: £4.00.
Dates: April 6th – September 28th
Easy / Medium – distance 3 miles (4.8 kilometres)
Join your host on a leisurely wander, around the beautiful village of Gorey and its surrounding areas. Discover the secrets of the past as you hear stories of the historic events surrounding Gorey over the centuries, in the shadow of the impressive medieval Mont Orgueil Castle.
Friday
‘Cows, Cockles and Cabbages’
Meeting Point: Liberation Square, St Helier. (circular route)
Guide: Hugh Gill or Sue Hardy
Time: 10:30 – 12:30 hrs
Price: £4.00.
Dates: April 7th – September 29th
Easy - distance 2 miles (3.2 kilometres)
Immerse yourself in St Helier’s history during this comprehensive tour of the town in the company of a Blue Badge Guide. Highlights include the indoor Victorian markets, currently celebrating over 200 years of trading including Jersey’s famous fish market, the town church and the bronze statues of our most famous Jersey residents!
Sunday
‘Outward Bound’
Meeting Point: Parish Hall, St Ouen (circular route)
Guide: Remi Couriard
Time : 13 :00 – 16 :45 hrs
Bus No: 7b or 9
Price: £4.00
Dates: May 21st, June 4th, 18th, July 2nd, 16th, 30th, August 13th, 27th, September 10th & 24th
Medium – distance 5 miles (8 kilometres)
Join your host for a guided walk as you follow country lanes and bridle paths past waving fields, ancient côtils and farmhouses. Taste the freshness of the Atlantic in the air as you enjoy stunning sea vistas and walk up an appetite, before returning to the village of St Ouen through some of the Island’s prettiest ‘Green Lanes’.
‘The Battle of Jersey – The Baron’s Last Hours’
Meeting Point: Liberation Square, St Helier (circular route)
Guide: Arthur Lamy
Time: 14:15 – 16:15hrs
Price: £4.00
Dates: May 28th, June 11th, 25th, July 9th, 23rd, August 6th, 20th, September 3rd & 17th
Easy – distance 2.5 miles (4 kilometres)
Follow Baron De Rullecourt’s advance into St. Helier. Will his gamble work? Will the Island fall into his clutches? Find out how his troops were beaten in the last land battle fought on British soil.
After Dark……
‘Ghost Walks’ – Evening walk
Meeting point: To be advised at time of booking.
Price: £5.00.
Dates: May 15th, June 19th, July 17th, August 14th, September 18th& October 23rd
Easy / Medium.
Explore Jersey’s most haunted sites as your 'spirit guide' invites you to experience the unexplained and witness the macabre. Are the shadows cast by dusky moonlight just the trees? Look more closely… you are being watched! You are disturbing the realm of the dead, and the deeper you go into the darkness the harder it is to escape.
As the experience takes place in the dark, please bring a torch, wear sensible outdoor clothing/shoes and take care footpaths.
Numbers are limited so booking is essential on these walks, however due to the huge popularity of these walks, Off Island bookings are available by telephone - +44 (0)1534 500777 and On Island bookings are available from a few days before each walk and should be made in person to Jersey Tourism. Telephone bookings can only be accepted for overseas visitors wishing to book in advance.
Murder, Muck and Mayhem’*– Evening walk
‘Meeting point: Liberation Square, St. Helier.
Guide: Tom Bunting and Paul Nicole
Time: 19:30 – 21:30 hrs.
Price: £4.00*
Dates: Every Tuesday from May 16th – September 19th
Easy – distance 2 miles (3.2 kilometres)
Listen to stories about the murkier side of Jersey's capital, St. Helier, with an evening's guided walk around the old town.
Specialist Walk
The Jersey ‘Flag Walk’ – All day walk
Meeting point: Mondays – Car park at Grosnez Castle.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays – St Lawrence Parish Hall.
Guide: Remi Couriard.
Pre booking essential – Tel: +44 (0)1534 500777.
Time: Mondays at 10:00hrs, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays at 09:30hrs.
Bus No. 8 (Grosnez Castle) No. 7 (St. Lawrence Parish Hall).
Price: £6.00 per day.
Dates: April 17th – 20th, July 3rd – 6rh & October 9th – 12th
Medium – between 6 & 7 miles per day.
Inspired by the Jersey flag, enjoy a series of four one-day guided walks across the Island from corner to corner discovering some of the island’s best-kept secrets.
Marvel at spectacular views of the Island’s coastline and soak up the atmosphere of a bygone era. Witness the natural beauty; agricultural diversity, architectural heritage and the traditions that make Jersey so unique. Step back in time and embark on a journey of discovery. Day 1 will take you from Grosnez to St. Lawrence, while on Day 2 you head through the lanes of St. Lawrence towards La Rocque. Day 3 takes you north to Rozel, finishing at La Corbière on Day 4. Bring a picnic and refreshments.
Charity Walks
Itex 'Around the Island' Charity Walk – 24th June 2006
Covering a total distance of 48.1 miles this annual event attracts both local and visiting walkers, raising funds for Jersey charities. The walk goes anticlockwise around the island, with thirteen checkpoints along the way. Walkers can expect to complete the walk in anything from 12 to 21 hours. This walk is not for the faint hearted but for those who are keen to challenge themselves.
The Great North Coast Charity Challenge – 17th September 2006
Visitors and locals alike are invited to join together in a 20 mile charity challenge along the Island’s north coast with all proceeds raised going to the locally based charity 'Help an African Schoolchild'. The walk starts at St Catherine's breakwater in St Martin from 08:00 hrs onwards and ends at Grosnez. It is expected to take participants between 3 to 10 hours to complete. Spectators are welcome. Application forms available from Jersey Tourism or for more information call: +44(0)1534 498650 or visit www.hast.org.uk
Public Transport
To obtain a copy of the Connex current bus timetable log onto www.mybus.je or pick one up from Jersey Tourism for £0.50.
Explorer Tickets
It is possible to take advantage of the bus service during your stay in Jersey by purchasing an explorer ticket. This will allow you unlimited travel on the public bus service and is an ideal saver if you are planning to use the bus on a regular basis during your stay. These are only available from Connex and cannot be purchased in advance. Tickets are valid for consecutive day travel only. Current prices are as follows:
1 day £ 6.00 Adult
3 day £15.30 Adult
5 day £22.50 Adult
7 day £31.50 Adult
Should you require further information regarding bus services please call Connex on Tel: +44 (0)1534 877772.
N.B All walks marked with * are not organised by Jersey Tourism and are not covered by Jersey Tourism walking tickets or the weekly / seasonal walking ticket offers.
All information, correct at time of print (August 2005)
PTGH wish to thank Jersey Tourism for their help in providing the above information.
19/01/2006
© 2006 Preston Travel Group Holdings Limited. All rights reserved.
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