I enjoyed a fabulous week in Jersey last month. Most people I know had heard of it, but apart from cows and Bergerac springing to mind, did not know much about it. So, I thought I would try to explain its appeal here. That’s quite hard to do, not just because I’m not a writer, but because it’s hard to capture Jersey in words. It’s more about feelings and atmosphere than facts and itineraries.

A holiday in Jersey would not suit everyone, but where would? I would highly recommend Jersey if you need a complete break away from everything. That’s not to say that it’s isolated and there is nothing to do there - far from it! However, you do really feel as if you are in a lovely bubble, away from all your hassles. If we had not had Sky News (loving the scrolling marquee on the new website by the way!) in our apartment, we would not have had a clue about the real world.

It’s quite an achievement to feel like that when you are only away for a week and are not cut off from civilisation in some far flung primitive deserted island. It’s really amazing to feel like that when Jersey has so much in common with life in Ireland or the UK! There’s no language barrier, they use Sterling, the food is the same and they have many of the same shops there. Yet, somehow, life feels completely different there.

The entire island is only about 9 miles by 5 miles, but is quite diverse. There’s the capital, St Helier, which is the centre of everything. It actually feels similar to Dublin city centre in size. There are a couple of main shopping streets and some nice parks. Then there are the pretty harbour villages of Gorey and St Aubin. Inland, some of the countryside has a very Irish feel to it which is nice. Other parts remind me more of those little picturesque English villages. Finally, there is the rugged landscape of the unspoilt North coast.

What is there to do in these lovely surroundings? Well, if you’re feeling active it’s great for cycling and walking. It’s popular with surfers too although I didn’t try that. You can even get dizzy trampolining which I highly recommend! Jersey Zoo is truly outstanding. There are a couple of nice castles to explore and a plethora of historical attractions including the Jersey War Tunnels if you prefer that sort of thing. I intend writing another post about which activities and places I would recommend, but for us it was much more about the overall experience of the week as a whole rather than a couple of must see attractions.

We were lucky and got fabulous weather for almost the entire week. It is a place that sparkles in the sunshine. Although there are some indoor attractions, I fear the magic would be lost if you were unable to be out and about most of the time savouring the stunning natural beauty of the island.

Another aspect to be aware of is the age profile of the island. Our holiday was right at the end of the main tourist season, so that may have exaggerated this slightly, but at times we did feel like a couple of kids in a giant nursing home! Don’t get me wrong, I would rather be surrounded by the elderly than a drunken raucous 18-30 crowd, but it did feel a bit strange at first!

Life in Jersey is also expensive. I did not conduct a CPI survey over there, but it may even be dearer than Dublin! Most things certainly seemed to cost more than here, including buses and taxis.

While I’m on the subject of transport, it’s worth going to Jersey if only to appreciate Dublin Bus! Well, for about a week anyway. Jersey’s bus system is not great. Firstly, all the routes start from the capital, St Helier. So, if you are in one part of the island and need to get to another, neither of which is St Helier, you will need to get 2 buses. Secondly, many of the routes only have a bus about every hour so missing the bus can have serious consequences!! You really need a bus timetable because of this, but they only seem to sell them in the main bus station in St Helier, which is the one place you would not need one because all the buses are straight in front of you Finally, they are all little buses (like our City Imp ones), which are fine when just the Jersey regulars are using them, but not during the tourist season. It’s sad and very strange to see old people standing on the bus.

Certainly, the best way to explore the island is by car. Be warned, the islanders love cars and drive like maniacs! If the weather is fine, it’s lovely to cycle around (while heeding the previous sentence!). By the end of the week, we had abandoned the buses in favour of taxis, which hurt our pockets, but made us feel just a little bit like some of the many millionaires who call Jersey home. When in Rome, as they say, and I look forward to returning to sample some more of laid back Jersey living.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 24th, 2005 at 9:23 pm and is filed under travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.