The Channel Islands

We’ll travel by luxury coach mid-afternoon for a brief stay at the Travelodge Christchurch on a room only basis.

Board the ferry to Guernsey as foot passengers. Upon arrival, we’ll install ourselves in the St Pierre Park Hotel and Spa in St Peter Port, the Island’s capital.

Have a day to yourself to explore St Peter Port and settle into the holiday.

Today we’ll cross to Sark for the day. The Island is so small we can explore most of it by foot quite comfortably. We’ll visit La Seigneurie House and Gardens where there is a café and, being central to the Island, is a perfect reference point to find our bearings.
Sark is famous for having no cars, but if you’d like a horse and carriage ride, we can help by advising you where to book this yourself.

Today we’ll hire a coach and travel around Guernsey with a specialist guide.
Our first stop today is the Little Chapel, as much a curiosity as a work of art. Totally covered in shells and broken bits of china, it is potentially one of the smallest chapels in the world.
We then take a short drive to the German Occupation Museum. This museum began when, as a schoolboy, Richard Heaume began collecting spent bullets in the local fields after the plough had gone by. In June 1966 Richard’s parents allowed him to use the cottage opposite their house to display his collection. Bit-by-bit, purpose-built extensions were added including the transport corridor and tea room.
Back in St Peter Port, we visit Castle Cornet with free time inside the castle followed by the opportunity to grab lunch in the town before heading out across the island for a scenic drive with at least one stop for pictures and to stretch our legs.

Today, our only activity is the transfer to Jersey and our installation into Ommaroo hotel, close to the seafront of the Island’s capital, St Helier.

Today and tomorrow we team up with a local travel guide to explore the Island.
We start this special floral tour with a private visit of Seafield garden by the owner, Mr Miles. The house is a Regency villa and was let in 1887 to Princess Stephanie of Austria, daughter of King Leopold of Belgium, and has a tragic but fascinating story attached. The garden has diverse and unusual plants, including exotic trees and plants including gunnera from Brazil, false pepper trees from Argentina and tree ferns from New Zealand.
Our tour continues with a scenic drive through the country lanes with glimpses of manor houses and old hamlets, remnants of water- and windmills. We arrive at 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.
We will stop for lunch at the island’s main garden centre: Ransoms, which has a popular restaurant/tea room where you can buy yourself a tasty treat.
After a short drive along the east coast to the beautiful Gorey Harbour for a photo stop, we then continue our tour with another scenic drive along south-east coastline back to St Helier to our final stop at Samares Manor Botanic Gardens.

This afternoon we may also get to enjoy the Jersey Air Show featuring the Red Arrows, so we are not sure at this stage how much of the programme below we will see. Our day begins with 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.
We then move on to 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.
After lunch we continue our tour along the west coast for a photo stop at Corbiere headland before heading to St Brelades Bay, the most popular and beautiful bay on the Island. Relax and admire the Winston Churchill Memorial Gardens and visit the ancient 6th Century Fisherman’s Chapel. We then head to Noirmont Point, a headland on the south coast with such impressive views that it was heavily fortified during the Occupation. Known as Battery Lothringen it was armed with four 15cm naval guns alongside the site of the M132 Underground Command Bunker with the range-finding tower. The bunker is now preserved and open by special appointment.

We return to Poole Harbour and on to our point of origin.