Skip to main content

Jaunting around Jersey Part 3

 I guess it's time to finally finish talking about my trip to Jersey nearly six months ago!!! (eek!)   I am actually going to talk about two days because..well a rainy day that I spent in the capital city of St Helier isn't really worth a blog post of its own!!!

I love museums especially when it's to do with history, so I decided on the first rainy day I would visit the Jersey Museum and Maritime Museum as well as the covered market.   The first rainy day came the second day I was in Jersey - the first day of my trip which was gloriously sunny I spent at the Durrell Wildlife Park. 

So off I headed into town - I know I've said it before but in my opinion the Jersey bus service is wonderful.

My first stop was the Central Market.




The famous Jersey Royal potatoes


That's not something you see in every market!



Central Market opened in 1882 and features Victorian architecture.

I then visited the nearby Beresford fish market as well.





Attractive aren't they?

Then it was off to the Jersey Museum and Gallery which showcased the history of Jersey as well as activities in its present times.  Adjoining the museum on its upper floors are the restored rooms of the Merchants House.


This was outside the museum.



Jersey is known as a tax haven.

I didn't take many photos inside the museum but it was fascinating with so much information.  Definitely recommended.  I would go back again next time I visit Jersey because believe you me there will be a next time.


The sculpture outside the Maritime Museum.



I loved these nautical figure heads that were used on the front of ships.


I loved this interactive globe of the world.


The highlight for me was the Tapestries done by the island people to commemorate 50 years of liberation from the Germans.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, Jersey was occupied by the Germans for five years of the Second World War.



Another enjoyable museum which is much more hands on than the Jersey museum.  Both well worth visiting.


As a dreamer, I love this!


This statue of Queen Elizabeth stands opposite the causeway to Elizabeth Castle on St Aubin's Bay just outside St Helier.




Elizabeth Castle is connected to land by a causeway.  When the causeway is flooded by the tide a ride in this strange contraption is required - the amphibious Castle Ferry! It was so much fun especially as they played the James Bond theme going over - a thrill for this huge Bond fan!  I felt like I was going on a secret mission. (I've always harboured a secret dream to be a British secret service agent!)




As I mentioned in my Mont Orgueil post this castle was ordered built in the late 1500's by Queen Elizabeth I to defend Jersey as Mont Orgueil was increasingly becoming fragile.  Elizabeth Castle defended Jersey for over 300 years including being used by the Germans during their occupation in the Second World War.




The noon gun was about to go off as we arrived.



BOOM!!!  He picked a tourist to set the explosion off - thank goodness it wasn't me!








The garrison building




I climbed up to the top of the castle and this was the view.  It was better looking towards the sea!!!



Soon it was time to say goodbye to Elizabeth Castle and head off across the bay.


I hopped a bus to St Aubin's which is a resort town close to St. Helier.  And yes I do believe I had an ice cream...




I wandered around St Aubins for a while and found a wonderful art shop.  I really liked this little place and will return some day.  I wanted to eat something but just could not decide on what I wanted.  In the end I headed back to St. Helier.


I read about this cow sculpture (a salute to the famouse Jersey cows) and finally found it.


The main pedestrian shopping street - after hours!!!


Some of the goodies you can buy in Jersey.


I settled on fish and chips at the Seafish Cafe which is downtown right in Liberation Square.  I had the healthy option - not battered!

One more goodbye to the famous Liberation statue...


Then it was back to my little home in Gorey Harbour.  The next morning I stayed in Gorey and after a hearty breakfast I wandered around exploring the harbour and streets of the village before taking the bus to the airport to catch my flight to Newcastle.

Jersey, you stole my heart and I'll be back!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A walk from Westminster to St Paul's Cathedral

I have decided to put the Thames Path on hold until I am back in London next month and we have more Spring like weather...I will be going into a more rural area that is prone to flooding as well.  I am staying at about five miles maximum a day as well...my knees and feet have been giving me major grief so I am not pushing myself. However that doesn't mean I don't want to walk.  One of my favourite British Walking Federation walks is one that starts at Westminster tube station and covers 10km to St Katherines Docks just east of the Tower of London.  Yesterday I walked as far as St Paul's and will do the rest of the walk in the next couple of days.  Normally I do this entire 10 km walk my first day in London but not this time... So here are some of the highlights along the way....what a gorgeous day it was.  A different view of Big Ben Can you believe this was my first time on Parliament Square Another hero on Parliament Square Classic ...

The Colourful houses of Mazatlan, Mexico

Well this isn't even Throwback Thursday and I am reminiscing about my (all too short) week in Mazatlan, Mexcico in January of 2010.  It was one of my best holidays EVER.  I stayed in a delightful little hotel called La Siesta which was on the waterfront in the central part of town.(known as centro) overlooking the ocean.   I walked around the town photographing buildings, ocean views, dogs....visited the Mercado, attended a fantastic Flamenco dance performance in the restored Teatro (theatre), toasted the sunset with a beer from my balcony every evening and ate at some wonderful restaurants.  I also took a couple of day trips which were okay but my time in Mazatlan overshadowed anything else I did. My one foray into the Gold (tourist) Zone left me horrified and scampering back to my beloved Centro.  And did I mention I did this as a solo trip?  Mexico has had a lot of bad press lately and while there ARE bad things going on there I still believe the average...

Cowboys and Outlaws in the Big Muddy of Saskatchewan

One of the (very) few advantages of being stuck at home during this pandemic has been an opportunity to see more of my home province of Saskatchewan.  Last summer and fall not only did I do a couple of day trips with friends but I took four day tours with Engelheim transport, a local Regina company.   I have to admit my favourite day out was the "Big Muddy Valley and Outlaws" tour. While I had been to the Big Muddy previously many years back I was eager to revisit and learn more of its history.   So in early October, I hopped on board and off we went.  The bus is only booked to half capacity so it was easy to social distance, hand gel was a must each time we boarded the bus,  masks were required when you got on and off the bus and in any buildings we visited.  I felt totally safe and oh my, it was so good to have an adventure!!  Despite the name the Big Muddy isn't a big huge puddle of mud but a valley of badlands that were formed from a glac...