Jersey is the sunniest spot in the British Isles, with more sunshine hours per day than anywhere else (342 hours more in 2021, in fact). Combine this with a beach for every mood and time of day and you might struggle to get off the sand. That would be a mistake: there are dynamic exhibitions exploring Jersey’s Second World War history, medieval castles and neolithic tombs. You can spend the night in a coastal defence tower surrounded by the swirling sea, take a RIB ride to the neighbouring archipelago of the Écréhous or wander among peaceful gardens and galleries. The variety of the island belies its size. Here are some of my favourite things to do.
Main photo: Mount Orgueil Castle, see number two below (Alamy)
1. Explore the art galleries in St Aubin
St Aubin is a harbour village at the western end of St Aubin’s bay on the south of the island. Here cobbled paths wind between old fishermen’s houses and fancy yachts bob in the marina. It’s unofficially Jersey’s artistic quarter with a growing number of art galleries and antiques shops to nose around. The Harbour Gallery is Jersey’s largest exhibiting space with works by more than 100 local artists and makers on display over three floors, with many items available for sale. This is also the place to come to learn from one of these artists during one of their regular workshops. Try your hand at felt-making or pottery or watercolor and draw inspiration from the picturesque setting.
2. Climb the granite steps of a medieval castle
Grand Mont Orgueil Castle has stood guard over the island for 800 years. Built in the local pink granite, this imposing castle, which dominates Gorey harbour, is one of the best surviving examples of a medieval fortress in the British Isles. Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy until it gave its allegiance to King John in 1204, and since then the island has been battling off intermittent French invasions. You’ll see the holes here through which the Jersiaise poured hot oil onto the invading soldiers. A dress-up box is a hit with the kids.
3. Walk among bioluminesce
Jersey has one of the largest tidal differences in the world and the island almost doubles in size at low tide. Take advantage of this freshly uncovered landscape of jagged rocks and deep pools at La Rocque Harbour, on the southeast tip of the island, by making a night-time low-tide walk known as the “moonwalk” (a reference to the lunar-like landscape of the seabed). At first it seems as though the stars above are reflected at your feet, but look closely and you’ll see that green sheen is actually emitted by tiny glow worms called Caulleriella bioculata. It’s quite magical.
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4. Spend the night at Seymour Tower
Jersey has a variety of heritage buildings that have been converted into self-catering accommodation, but Seymour Tower is perhaps the most dramatic. Twice a day the tide comes swishing in around this 18th-century coastal defence tower until you are completely cut off from the mainland. The place sleeps six and you get your own guide for the duration of the stay who’ll make sure you get out and back safely and can tell you about the anemones and whelks that you pass on the low-tide walk to get there.
5. Get creeped-out at Jersey War Tunnels
Perhaps the most spooky of all the island’s visitor attractions is the Jersey War Tunnels — an award-winning exploration of the five years of German Occupation. The museum is situated in a series of tunnels that were built by forced labour, and at one time housed an underground hospital in preparation for Allied bombing (that never happened). The displays challenge you to think how you might have behaved — would you have accepted an ice cream from a German soldier or helped an escaped Russian labourer?
6. Walk through a restored Victorian house
The Victorian House is one of the finest examples of a 19th-century townhouse in Jersey. The building has been restored to how it might have looked in 1861 when it was home to a prosperous doctor’s family in Victorian St Helier. Kids will love to ride the antique rocking horse in the playroom and to look at the little vials of medicines in the doctor’s bag. The house adjoins the Jersey Museum (which is worth a visit to find out about Jersey’s most famous Victorian, the actor Lillie Langtry). You just walk through from the museum and don’t need an extra ticket.
7. Greet the gorillas at Gerald Durrell’s zoo
Spend the day at Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) gawping at gorillas, laughing at lemurs and hanging out with the howlers. There’s a small museum dedicated to the great conservationist, Gerald Durrell, who established this zoo in 1959 and lived and worked there until his death in 1995. His wife Lee Durrell still lives in the granite Les Augrès Manor and helps run the international conservation work of the Durrell Foundation. For an intimate encounter with one of the creatures, book an animal experience, where you’ll get to help a keeper prepare food and learn more about the conservation work.
8. Ride the amphibious ferry to Elizabeth Castle
This handsome 16th-century castle is built on a tidal island, which means that you usually have to make a sea crossing on at least one leg of your journey — which adds to the adventure of a visit. Try to get there in time for the firing of the midday cannon, which is part of an enthusiastic historical re-enactment that includes the firing of muskets. Don’t miss the St Helier Hermitage, which is reached by walking along a breakwater at the rear of the castle. It was here that the island’s patron saint lived alone on a rock in the 6th century.
9. Bathe in a forgotten forest
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The latest wellness trend to reach Jersey’s shores, forest bathing is a considered way to reconnect with nature. You can take a guided walk through the arboretum in St Peter (which was planted in the 1970s as a memorial of an untimely death and then largely forgotten), led by a trained ecotherapist who will have you paying close attention to the light and shade, the scents and textures and the varying elevations of the woods. It is a deeply relaxing and enlightening experience. Walks also take place in St Ouen on a route to Grantez headland.
10. Get lost in a field of maize
One of the best days out on the island for families. The aMaizin Adventure Park in St Peter started life as a maize maze and has expanded over the years to include a large outdoor activity park, with bouncy pillow, go-karts, playgrounds, panning for gold, water fights, tobogganing and minigolf, along with an indoor wooden-built soft play, fields of farm animals and a tractor ride. The maize maze gets better each year and is a real adventure in mid-summer when the corn is high.
11. Dine at Bohemia
There was a time when Jersey had five Michelin-starred restaurants. Now it only has one — and that one has become quite a destination. The art deco-styled Bohemia restaurant, attached to the Club Hotel & Spa in St Helier, has held a Michelin star for 20 years, despite changing chefs. Now at the helm is Callum Graham, who got to the quarter-finals of 2018’s MasterChef: The Professionals, and whose exquisite dishes are cooked with all the precision and flair you might imagine. Opt for the tasting menu for a cavalcade of flavours and textures.
12. Tour Jersey’s only vineyard
Think Jersey produce, and royal potatoes and perhaps tomatoes or irises will probably spring to mind. But did you know that Jersey also produces its own wine? La Mare Wine Estate, in St Mary, is Jersey’s only working vineyard and also has large orchards to grow the apples for its apple brandy, and a cognac-style distillery, which also produces artisanal gin and vodka. Take a tour and tasting to find out not only how they produce the alcohol, but also how they make the Jersey preserve Black Butter (made with the remnants of cider-making) and local fudge and chocolates.
13. Discover rare breeds of orchid
All those hours of sunshine create a microclimate that results in a burst of floral colour come spring. You can find Anacamptis laxiflora, the Jersey orchid, in a National Trust-protected field called Le Noir Pré in St Ouen, which is awash with the purple flowers from mid-May to late June and is one of the last remaining places to see them. Or head to the Eric Young Orchid Foundation, which is a love letter to this ostentatious flower. The foundation specialises in creating hybrid varieties (cymbidiums, oncidiums and tropical slipper orchids) and has won gold at Chelsea Flower Show no fewer than eight times.
14. Try to stand up on a paddleboard in St Brelade
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Paddleboarding is the sport du jour pretty much everywhere you go, and Jersey has not been left behind. If you’ve not tried it, or not tried it on the sea, then the relatively calm waters of St Brelade’s Bay are a good place to attempt to balance and steer and actually get the board moving. Absolute Adventures operates from a little hut on the promenade and a couple of vans parked up on the beach (look out for the stacks of kayaks). Book a one-hour lesson with their experienced teachers and you’ll be back to rent a board the next day.
15. Take a surf lesson in St Ouen
Jersey was once the centre of the European surf scene, and in the 1960s hundreds of people gathered to watch the British Surf Team ride the Atlantic breakers on the five-mile-long beach at St Ouen on Jersey-made surfboards (Freedom Surfboards was born here). The sport has never waned in popularity among locals and the surf instructors at the Jersey Surf School, which operates from the bunker at Le Braye, are passionate and enthusiastic and will try to get you standing in your first lesson.
16. Have afternoon tea in a private garden
You’ll amble through Judith Quérée’s garden with open mouths at the amount of planting she’s managed to pack into her valley garden — over 2,000 different plants at the last count. When Quérée (who’s an RHS partner gardener) first bought the 300-year-old cottage it was completely derelict and the garden was full of rubbish and overgrown. The bog garden is a riot of colour in late July into August, with primulas, lobelias and trollius, while elsewhere there are more than 200 varieties of clematis climbing every available support. The garden is open to visitors from May to October, but the best way to experience it is with a private tour followed by afternoon tea.
17. Explore the art galleries in St Aubin
St Aubin is a harbour village at the western end of St Aubin’s bay on the south of the island. Here cobbled paths wind between old fishermen’s houses and fancy yachts bob in the marina. It’s unofficially Jersey’s artistic quarter with a growing number of art galleries and antiques shops to nose around. The Harbour Gallery is Jersey’s largest exhibiting space with works by more than 100 local artists and makers on display over three floors, with many items available for sale. This is also the place to come to learn from one of these artists during one of their regular workshops. Try your hand at felt-making or pottery or watercolor and draw inspiration from the picturesque setting.
18. Walk the cliff paths of the north coast
Jersey has low-lying sandy bays all along its south, east and west coasts, while to the north are steep granite sea cliffs that tower above sheltered coves. Well-worn paths wind all around these little bays and harbours providing spectacular views across the sea to the other Channel Islands, which are visible on the horizon on a clear day. You’ll feel on top of the world as you work your way along the rocky paths dotted with pink thrift and yellow gorse and see the gulls circling overhead and coming in to perch on the rocks below. Rather than having to walk the same path twice, get a bus to your starting point — either Greve de Lecq or Bouley Bay, depending on which direction you want to walk in — and then get the bus back from where you finish.
19. Take a RIB to the Écréhous
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Écréhous, an archipelago of tiny islands, is actually considered part of the Jersey parish of Grouville. Before Jersey Seafaris started RIB trips to the islands, they were the well-kept secret of private yacht owners — who still make the trip to set anchor and barbecue a lobster or two on the pebbly shores. Now Island RIB Voyages also offers a tour, so you can choose a time that suits. It’s an exhilarating 20-minute journey, during which you might spot dolphins or seals. Once there, you can wander among the tiny houses and enjoy a sundowner before heading back to the mainland.
20. Hire an electric bike
Jersey has an intricate network of 15mph country back roads known as “green lanes”, in which pedestrians and cyclists have right of way (the maximum speed on the island is only 40mph). This makes Jersey a great place to explore from a saddle. If you don’t want to work your thighs on the hills, then pick up an electric bike from the easy hire scheme called Evie, which has drop-off and pick-up points dotted throughout the island. Download the simple app, scan the QR code behind the bike seat and then press the “Rent Bike” button and you’re on your way. You’ll be charged every ten minutes for the first two hours but then hours three to six are free. You can also “pause” your rental for a reduced fee, allowing you to pop into a café or a shop or just park up and admire the view.
21. Book a birdwatching tour
Jersey is just nine miles by five and you can be in wetland marshes one minute and in dense woodland another. This varied landscape in such a small area makes the island attractive to bird watchers who can see up to 50 different species in one day, without having to travel very far. For example, in the UK you’d have to go to Norfolk to see a reed warbler and Cornwall to see a cirl bunting yet both birds can be seen in Jersey while walking. Neil, from Birding Tours Jersey, has extensive knowledge and will help you to distinguish the different bird calls. For the best experience get up with the larks and join them to experience a dawn chorus.
Take me there
Inspired to visit Jersey but yet to book your trip? Here are the best TUI holidays and British Airways breaks to the Channel island.
• Best hotels in Jersey
• Best seaside towns in the UK
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