Walking in Guernsey
£8.00
16 walks and 1 car tour
by Geoff Daniel
A guidebook to walking on Guernsey in the Channel Islands, featuring 16 of the best long and short day walks. We cover not only Guernsey, but the nearby islands of Alderney, Sark and Herm, showing trekking routes of varying difficulty, all of which are mapped in detail at a scale of 1:25,000.
The hikes follow centuries-old paths to prehistoric burial grounds and World War II remnants with a mixture of steep cliff climbs and easy strolling. This guide also includes a car tour, a touring map of Guernsey, a plan of St Peter Port and free downloadable GPS tracks.
When to go: Best time to walk is in the spring, especially April/May when the spring flowers are out. But walking is enjoyable through to October, and even in the winter months if you don’t mind showers and bracing breezes.
★★★★★ amazon review ‘We found this little book really useful when planning outings and walks while on holiday in Guernsey. There is useful general information contained in it too.‘ Jane O
Printed book: £8.99 / PDF ebook: £8.00
All the walks have been rechecked for this sixth edition of our guidebook to walking in Guernsey, Alderney and Sark.
The maps have all been redrawn using OpenStreetMap mapping with reference to GPS tracking, and free downloadable GPS tracks are now available for all the walks in the guide.
An ideal introduction for the first-time visitor, this book also provides new ideas for those who come year after year. Apart from marvellous coastal scenery that’s been compared to that of Cornwall and Brittany, there is much to explore of the island’s past.
For example, you could follow some of Guernsey’s ‘green lanes’ and ‘water lanes’ — centuries-old paths once used by pack-horses and donkeys, or follow a route that takes in the relics of prehistoric burial grounds as well as remnants of the German Occupation during World War II.
Guernsey cliff walks, with steep climbs and lots of steps, are quite challenging, but elsewhere walking in Guernsey is very easy — the terrain is almost flat and ideal for the casual stroller.
I have just spent a wonderful 10 days in Guernsey. Thank you for making our holiday so much more interesting. Full marks for the format of the book — so easy to carry. (Mrs JD, Chandlers Ford)
This book, like all Sunflower books, is great. Small and lightweight to carry with you. the details are easy to follow and are so helpful: Transport needed to get to the starting point. Length of walk. What shoes to wear and difficulty of walk. The maps are small but easy to follow. Lots of walks to follow at all levels. You don’t have to be an expert to do the walks nor follow the directions. Great value. (Mr C K Howell, Amazon)
The island is so small that it really doesn’t matter, but if you are relying on public transport, it’s best to stay in or near St Peter Port for the best bus services. Walking in Alderney would justify an overnight stay (or even a couple of nights), but the much smaller islands of Sark and Herm can be adequately explored on day trips.
1 car tour, 16 walks, 12 picnic suggestions for Guernsey; 2 walks and 2 picnic suggestions each for Alderney, Sark and Herm
64 pages + touring map; plan of St Peter Port; extremely clear, newly drawn 1:25,000 walking maps based on Openstreet Mapping covering most of Guernsey and all of Alderney, Sark and Herm.
6th ed, 2018; ISBN 978-1-85691-511-3; UK retail price £8.99 / USA retail price $14.00
Table of contents:
Preface 4
Acknowledgements; Books 6
Getting about 7
Picnicking 9
Touring 12
THE COASTAL TOUR 14 (Guernsey is a small island so this book contains just a single car tour)
St Peter Port · Jerbourg Point · St Martin’s · St Andrew’s · Icart Point · Petit Bot Bay · Pleinmont · Lihou Island · St Saviour’s Reservoir · Cobo Bay · L’Ancresse · Beaucette Marina · St Sampson’s · St Peter Port
WALKING
Where to stay 21
What to take 21
A country code for walkers and motorists 22
Waymarking and maps 23
THE WALKS
The walks in the book are arranged starting with walks on Guernsey on or near the coast – clockwise round the island from St Peter Port – and concluding with 10 and 11 – two inland walks.
1 St Peter Port – a town walk 25
2 St Peter Port to Fermain Bay 27
3 The Jerbourg Peninsula 29
4 Moulin Huet Water Lane 32
5 Renoir’s scene – the coast from Icart 34
6 Petit Bot to Pleinmont 36
7 Legends around Lihou 40
8 Saumarez Park and nature trail 42
9 The north coast 44
10 St Saviour’s and the Millennium Nature Walk 48
11 The Talbot Valley 52
12 The enchanting island of Herm 54
13 The feudal island of Sark 56
14 Introduction to Alderney 59
Bus routes and frequencies 62
Index 64
Island touring map inside back cover
St Peter Port town plan 24
GUERNSEY (for the other islands, see below)
Amarreurs Harbour 46-7, 47
Ancresse, L’
Bay 8, 11, 44-5, 46-7, 47, 62
Common 14, 19, 44-5, 46-7
Beau Sejour Leisure Centre 24, 62
Beaucette Marina 8, 14, 19, 44, 47
Belvedere Field 27, 28
Bordeaux Harbour 8, 19
Calais 29, 31
Castle Cornet (St Peter Port) 9, 13, 14, 24, 26
Chene, Le (Petit Bot Bay) 36-7, 62
Cobo 11, 43
Bay 14, 19, 42, 43, 62
Corbiere, La 10, 17, 36-7, 38, 62
Creux es Faies dolmen 17, 40-1
Doyle Column 10, 14, 29, 30-1, 30-1, 62
Eree, L’ 10, 40-1, 41, 62
Fermain Bay (Fort Road) 9, 10, 26-7, 28, 31, 62
Folk Museum (National Trust) see Saumarez Park) 62
Forest 17, 36-7
Fort Grey Maritime Museum 17
Fort Le Marchant (L’Ancresse Bay) 11, 44, 45, 46-7
German Occupation Museum 17, 62
Gouffre, Le 37, 38
Grand Havre Bay 46-7, 47
Guet, Le 11, 42, 42
Icart 10, 14, 16, 30-1, 34, 35, 62, cover
Jaonnet Bay, Le 30-1, 35
Jerbourg 10, 20-1, 27, 30-1
Point 10, 14, 29, 31, 62
Ladies’ Bay 63
Lihou Island 10, 14, 17, 40-1, 41, 63
Moulin des Niots, Le (Talbot Valley) 52, 53
Moulin Huet 10, 15, 29, 30-1, 32, 33, 34-5, 63
Mont Herault 63
Pea Stacks 30-1, 35
Pembroke Bay 19, 63
Perelle Bay 11, 18, 48, 49, 63
Petit Bot (Bay) 10, 14, 16, 31, 35-6, 36-7, 39, 62-3
Petit Port, Le 10, 29, 30-1, 32
Pleinmont 10, 14, 16, 36, 38, 63, 63
Pointe de la Moye 37
Portelet Bay (Harbour) 17, 38, 39, 63
Prevote, La 39
St Andrew’s 11, 14-5, 52, 53, 63
St Apolline’s Chapel 18, 40-1, 48, 49, 51
St Martin’s 2, 14, 30-1, 63
St Peter Port 9, 13, 14, 17, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 63
St Sampson’s 8, 14, 19, 63
St Saviour’s 41, 48, 49, 51
Church 11, 41, 48, 49, 51, 63
Reservoir 11, 14, 18, 40-1, 49, 50
Saints Bay (and Harbour) 10, 16, 30, 34, 63
Saline Bay 19, 63
Saumarez Park 15, 19, 43, 63
Sausmarez Manor 14, 63
Strawberry Farm 63
Table des Pions, La 10, 38, 38, 39
Talbot Valley 11, 15, 52, 53, 53
Telephone Museum 63
Tielles, Les 36-7, 39, 63
Torteval, St Philippe du (Church) 19, 36, 63
Trepied dolmen, Le 18, 40-1, 48, 49
Vale 8, 19, 44, 46-7
Castle 8, 19
Vauxbelets, Les (Little Chapel) 15
Vazon Bay 18, 63
ALDERNEY 11, 59-61, TM
Braye Bay 61, TM
Etacs, Les 11, 61, TM
Fort Clonque 11, 59, 61, TM
Fort Doyle 61, TM
Fort Tourgis 61, TM
St Anne 59, 60, 61, TM
Telegraph Bay 60, 61, TM
HERM 11, 54-5, TM
Belvoir Bay 54, 55, TM
Fisherman’s Beach 54, TM
Gentleman’s Beach (Point) 55, TM
Herm Harbour 11, 54, 55, TM
Mouissoniere Beach 11, 55, TM
St Tugal 11, 54, 55, TM
Shell Beach 11, 55, TM
SARK 11, 56-8, TM
Coupee, La 11, 57, TM
Creux Harbour 56-7, TM
Greve, La Grande 11, 56, 58, TM
Hog’s Back 56-7, TM
Seigneurie, La 56, 58, TM
GUERNSEY, WITH ALDERNEY, SARK AND HERM 6th edition, 2018 (Updated 12/07/2024)
Updates for walks and car tours (drives) on Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm given below supplement those provided in the guidebook. It is vital that this Update is read in conjunction with the text of the book, but note that the Update applies only to the edition stated and not to any earlier editions. (If you have an older edition of this book you can “upgrade” to the latest edition at half price.)
Information has been forwarded to us by users of the book, and Sunflower Books offers the data in good faith but cannot be held responsible for any misleading or inaccurate content in the Update. Unless indicated otherwise, what appears here has not been verified by the author or publisher, so please allow due caution when new or amended routes are suggested. Each piece of information is dated; bear in mind that some of the older observations may have since been overtaken by events or further changes. If, during your holiday, you are using the current edition of the guide and are able to provide any additional updating to add to this page, we will be pleased to hear from you. Please send information, preferably by e-mail, to info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk.
GENERAL
The walks we did were fine, but all bus fares are now £1.50 per ride. (User, 7/24)
Click to download a zip file of GPS tracks for Guernsey
iPhone users need a free or paid app to open the zip file and see the files stored inside it. There are a variety of apps that can open zip files on the iPhone, but Zip Viewer is one of the easiest to use – and it is free.
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