O’er the sea to ????

We have been trying to ensure that every camp we stay at has public transport close by. At the Crossways camp the public transport is trains with the closest destination of Weymouth. Looking through some literature in the information room at the camp we came across a voucher for a cheap same day return tickets to Guernsey. As we were unable to connect to the internet the Camp Warden obligingly printed off a train timetable and ferry schedule. After studying this we went down to the station to buy 2 same day return tickets to Weymouth.

Say's it all.

In the morning we had to be up at 06.15hrs to catch the 07.50hrs train which gave us just enough time to walk to the ferry terminal from Weymouth station, purchase ferry tickets and get aboard with minutes to spare before cast off. There was a disappointment to all this in that the brochure said the fast ferry, Condor Express,  took 2 hours but due to a mechanical problem it actually took 3 hours and the return journey was also an hour later than scheduled.  Luckily the train timetable covered us right up until 22.00hrs so no problem on that score.

Guernsey tour guide in hand and a BLUE post box!

We certainly enjoyed the 4 hours we had in Guernsey although we didn’t venture outside of St Peter Port. There was plenty to see with the influences of the ancient Norman’s, French and of course English. It was interesting that the people of the island have not forgotten their recent history with many reminders of the German invasion of the Channel Islands.

Well that's something different. Yellow not red

In the harbour there is a busy ferry service between Sark, Herm and Alderney islands as well as the daily ferries from Portsmouth and Weymouth which carry on to France only 30 miles away. The private cruisers, (Gin Palaces) and yacht’s moored in the marina gives you a good idea as to the wealth in VAT free Guernsey.

Guernsey Marina

We discussed the fact that Guernsey wouldn’t be a bad place to live but when we investigated further we found that only a very limited amount of properties are available for sale to non resident’s with starting prices at around half a million pounds. Resident’s can expect to pay up to several millions so it’s not a cheap place to live even if it is VAT free.

Castle Cornet built in the 13th century and garrisoned until the 20th century to protect  the entrance to St Peter Port. A noon day gun is fired daily.

These were spotted outside the Information Office on the waterfront in St Peter Port. Free parking for Motorhomes perhaps?