The island of Jersey is famous for its cows and potatoes; the cows are beautiful and the potatoes are delicious, but Jersey, as we discovered recently, has much more to recommend it. The largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey is a quirky mixture of French and English cultures and has a very interesting history. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this beautiful British isle. Why visit Jersey? What to see on Jersey? Read on!
Travelling to Jersey
It is possible to fly from the UK, but we took the motor home across on the ferry, opting to sail from Poole in Dorset. It took about four hours, about an hour of which involved calling at the island of Guernsey to allow some passengers to disembark.
Getting around on Jersey
Most of the roads on Jersey are narrow, very narrow, which meant that an encounter with a bus on the way to the campsite presented a rather tricky situation for ourselves and the motor home ahead of us. Fortunately, once we had made camp, we had the trusty scoot on which to bomb around. There are a lot of motorbikes and scooters on Jersey.
As well as the scoot, we also had bikes. Cycling is popular on Jersey and it is a great way to explore this beautiful island, but be warned: there are hills! We had e-bikes and I was grateful for this. (I am a complete convert to e-bikes as you can read in I love my e-bike! ) It is also possible to hire bikes on Jersey, which we did on an earlier occasion.
Camping on Jersey
We stayed at the campsite at Rozel and it is lovely. The pitches are well spaced, there are views of the countryside and from some areas, the sea. The facilities on the site are great and there is an outdoor swimming pool and a children’s playground. The owners are friendly and helpful.
So what to see on Jersey besides cows and potatoes?
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Beaches, lots of beautiful beaches!
Sandy beaches, rocky beaches, shingle beaches, small beaches, vast beaches… And where there are beaches, there are also some magical cliff-top walks.
La Corbiere Lighthouse at St Brelade. Can you see the causeway just below the water?
As an island, you are always close to the sea and the beautiful coastline on Jersey. However, the landscape is attractive inland too. Jersey is simply gorgeous wherever you look!
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History
Jersey was regarded as a strategic military point in past wars, the evidence of which is still very visible in the form of castles, fortifications, memorials and war tunnels.
German fortifications left from the Second World War
La Rocco Tower at St Ouens Bay, built to defend the island against the French in the late 18th C
Mount Orgueil Castle, Gorey. Construction started in 1204
The Saint Malo Memorial
This beautiful sculpture, the Saint Malo Memorial, commemorates the saving of 307 lives from a French catamaran in 1995. It is at St Brelade and definitely worth seeing.
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St Helier
St Helier is the capital of Jersey. It has a very European feel to it and lots of interesting shops to peruse.
The narrow streets of St Helier
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The La Mare Wine Estate
We came upon La Mare by accident, but it was clearly meant to be as a tour was just about to start. It would have been rude not to!
The La Mare Winery is well worth visiting. We had one of the best tours of a winery/distillery we have ever had. The guide was interested in and knowledgeable about his subject. The estate grows its own grapes for the wine, but also apples for cider. The cider is made on site – along with gin, apple brandy, vodka …..They also make chocolate and preserves! Jersey Black Butter is a speciality. It is a sort of spicy apple chutney made by boiling up apples with lots spices for days. Don’t miss this – it smells like Christmas! I just used some to glaze a ham – yum! What’s not to like?
Wine maturing in the casks
The gin still
The tour was informative and comprehensive. The tasting was offered during the film shown at the end of the tour. It is quite nice to sit with a glass of wine and a nibble of chocolate whilst finding out more about the wines! Afterwards we took the vineyard walk and looked around the gardens of the original house. All were very well kept and attractive.
In amongst the vines
The original farmhouse at La Mare
There is also a café at La Mare, which looked lovely and had an interesting menu, but we had already had lunch (- and wine and chocolate and apple brandy…..) so did not partake. We did, however, spend far too much money in the shop, which was very well stocked with lots of goodies. Be warned! This was one of the highlights of our visit to Jersey and if you really are wondering what to see on Jersey, I would highly recommend La Mare.
The island of Jersey is as interesting as it is beautiful. We enjoyed our Jersey potatoes and our Jersey cream, but we also loved exploring this gem of an island.
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So scenic, so peaceful. Loved the vineyard. Thanks for sharing!!
Wow stunning photos! I didn’t know Jersey was famous for cows and potato’s though ???? xxx
Jersey cow milk has the most fat and protein content of any milk, so extra creamy and Jersey Royal potatoes are everywhere on the island. If you have not tried them, seek them out. They really are delicious!Thank you for reading.
Yes, we shall definitely be going back. Just been reading about some great cliff walks we missed.
Yes, me too. In truth the weather was so lovely, we probably did not make enough of the history on this trip.Always next time though!
From what I’ve read from your post, Jersey has so much to offer and it is a definitely worth exploring place. Is it easy to find good accommodation there?
Not sure about accommodation generally, but there are plenty of hotels/bed and breakfasts. We were staying in our camper van at the only campsite!
Ha I love the title
Tiana/ fablemoonsays.com
I think it confused some people who are not at all familiar with the island of Jersey!