The Channel Islands – 2026

Departing on 5th June, we travel to Guernsey and install ourselves in the 4-star St Pierre Park Hotel in St Peter Port.
St Pierre is part of the Hand Picked group of hotels and is lovely. It is on a main bus route into St Peter Port and buses run very frequently. The cost of using them is very low, so if you want to venture off on your own, it’s very easy. This will be our base for the whole stay on Guernsey.

This event is just like an open gardens event that some villages enjoy through the year in the UK. Spend a few hours wandering at your own pace before we transfer back to the hotel, or possibly St Peter Port for a look around.

Today we’ll travel around Guernsey with a specialist guide, the wonderful Amanda Johns, who is an excellent leader and will answer the questions you may have about life on Guernsey. It’s not at all like the UK!
We’ll visit the Little Chapel, as much a curiosity as a work of art. It was built early in the last century by Brother Déodat – one of the Brothers of the Christian Schools – who tried to build his own version of Notre Dame Grotto in Lourdes. Totally covered in shells and broken bits of china, it is potentially one of the smallest chapels in the world.
Other visits include the German Occupation Museum and Castle Cornet but today will mostly be a tour around the Island to see the villages and coast.

Today we’ll cross to Sark for the day. The Island has no cars, only tractors and horse drawn vehicles!
It is so small we could explore most of it by foot, but to make the most of our time we’ll enjoy some horse drawn travel to visit the highlights. We’ll visit La Seigneurie House and Gardens and an exclusive to Pennywood Tours: La Grand Dixcart Garden.

Today we’ll visit Herm. It’s only a very small Island which will take perhaps half a day to walk around at the very most, but there is hotel and a couple of pubs and cafés, so plenty of time to relax and enjoy the slower pace of life.

Interestingly, since our last visit, Jersey and Guernsey have decided to use separate ferry companies, so we’ve had to engage yet another ferry company to transport us between the Islands!
Today, our only activity is the transfer to Jersey and our installation into the stunning 4-star Radisson Blu Hotel. A new building, it’s located on the St Helier waterfront, and only a few hundred yards from the town centre.

For these two days we team up with a local travel guide to explore the Islands.
We’ll visit a number of highlights on the Island including a visit to the Glass Church, which houses extensive examples of Lalique glass. The work was commissioned by Lady Florence of Trent in memory of her husband, Jesse Boot (1st Baron of Trent), founder of Boots the Chemist.
History-wise, we’ll visit the Jersey War Tunnels. During World War II, the Crown left Jersey defenceless, and the Island became occupied by German forces. Jersey War Tunnels are a product of five long years of Occupation. Dug deep into the hillside by forced and slave workers from nations across Europe, they now contain an underground collection of thought-provoking exhibits that tell the fascinating story of Jersey’s Occupation from resistance, through to starvation, then eventual liberation.
Scenery-wise, there will be so much to see including the beautiful Corbiere headland as well as St Brelade’s Bay and Noirmont Point, a headland on the south coast with such impressive views that it was heavily fortified during the Occupation. In the south-east of the Island we’ll see Gorey Harbour.
So many of these places you will recognise from both the original and new Bergerac TV series’, the latter of which has just screened on the U&Drama Freeview channel.
Garden-wise, we will take in some published gardens like Judith Queree’s Garden, but there will be other private gardens opening exclusively to Pennywood Tours like Meadow Farm, Domaine des Vaux and La Rue des Aix.
Our tour will travel through scenic country lanes with glimpses of manor houses and old hamlets, remnants of water and windmills, and will take in the Eric Young Orchid Foundation.
Born in 1911, Eric Young’s fascination with orchids began in his teens. He lost his first collection during the Second World War, but a move to Jersey and a successful business career rekindled his passion. Not only did he amass one of the finest living collections, but he also supported the wider orchid world in a myriad of ways. Eric Young was truly one of the great orchidists of his time and was widely respected and honoured throughout the international orchid community.

A free day in St Helier.
Take time to visit this town, including the classic indoor central market with its remarkable architecture or St Helier’s Royal Square, where Classic Bergerac’s fictional police headquarters was originally located.

We return to Poole late in the evening and will take an overnight hotel.

We return home with frequent stops for comfort and refreshments.