Guernsey, a piece of France taken by England

Victor Hugo described them as “pieces of France that fell into the sea and were picked up by England”. They have their own currency, they form two states that are not part of the United Kingdom but are directly dependent on the British Crown, which appoints their bailiffs (their heads of civil status), they are closer to Normandy than to England. And, let’s admit it, we French don’t really know what they are.

So there are many reasons to discover the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, and to focus here on the lesser known of the two, Guernsey, with its three islets, Sark (Sercq), Alderney (Alderney) and Herm.

Victor Hugo, the writer exiled by Napoleon III lived there from 1856 to 1870. His house, Hauteville house, is in Saint-Peter-Port. Behind the austere white stone facade, hides an incredible ode to the tormented imagination of its occupant, all dark paneling, Gothic and romantic, eccentric and extravagant.

The rooms are overflowing with sculptures with hidden symbolism worthy of the lover of spiritualism that the writer was. Thus, the oak gallery, mixing bedroom and study; at the head of the four-poster bed is a head, face on one side, skull on the other. Memento mori… Paradoxically, Victor Hugo did not use this room, he slept in a very small room under the roof.

 

 

 

It is less well known but Auguste Renoir also stayed on the island in 1883. He painted around fifteen paintings there showing the different shades of the English Channel and the rocks from the bay of Moulin Huet. A trail allows you to discover each of the landscapes he captured.

Celebrating 80 years of liberation… on May 9

Another oddity is that they are the only territory in the British Isles to have been occupied by Germany. The German army also built Atlantic Wall fortifications there. Guernsey is thus rich in emblematic places from the Second World War, starting with a German underground hospital, which could accommodate 800 wounded.
Or Fort Hommet. Built in the 19th century, reinforced by the Germans, it houses a mini-museum retracing the living conditions of German soldiers… as well as an astonishing altar of the Sacred Heart made of shells.
It should be noted that in Guernsey the victory is celebrated on May 9. In fact, the German soldiers did not surrender until the day after Germany's capitulation.

Sark. Just a stone’s throw from St Peter Port, Sark is the perfect place to unwind. Here, the only motor vehicle is the tractor that transports passengers from the port to the “town” and its main street, The Avenue, a small dirt road.

By bike, on foot or in a horse-drawn carriage, we set off to discover the country paths. This small piece of land of 5 km² offers green and peaceful meadows, a profusion of rhododendrons, camellias and hydrangeas thanks to the mildness of its climate, a jagged coast where cliffs and white sand coves alternate.

 

 

 

We should rather speak of two small pieces of land, with the large Sercq and the small Sercq, linked by the Coupée, an isthmus a few metres wide bordered by sheer cliffs.
Without public lighting, far from light pollution, Sark is the first island in the world to be labelled a “dark sky reserve”.

Not to be missed, the Seigneurie, an elegant 18th century manor house. It is still today the residence of the lord of the island: the last feudal state in Europe, Sark only became a democracy in… 2008!

 
A simple reading of the maps of Guernsey and Sark shows how much the islands have kept a very strong Norman identity. Route de la Croix au Baillif, les Varioufs, roads of Cornus or Camp du Roi, rue du Dos d’âne, Landes du Marche, le Long Pierre, le Crocq, baie La Grande Havre, Table des Pions and Torteval follow one another in Guernsey. In Sark, we wander between the names Rouge Terrier, Port à la Jument, Port du Moulin, l’Eperquerie, Grève de la Ville and Grande Grève, rue des Lâches, La Coupée, Bec du Nez, rue du Sermon…

The Channel Islands are definitely unique...