Jersey cows and lavender

Our two-and-a-half months in Europe was rounded off nicely by a relaxing week on the beautiful Channel Island of Jersey. My (Minnie's) Papa George lived on Jersey for a good many years, and was keen for us to take a look, and we were only too happy to do so.

Arriving at 9.45 in the morning, we had a quick stop at the information centre before catching a bus out to Highlands Hotel (a Christian hotel on the south-western-most point of the island). The bus drivers in Jersey are very friendly - they'll help with directions and even drop you off at the gate, if you're lucky! We were warmly welcomed at our hotel by Alan, the manager, and settled ourselves in before going out for some advice on what to see and do. A nearby lavender farm sounded appealing, and we decided to walk there. We ended up spending a good three or four hours there, admiring the many varieties of plants, feeding chickens, snoozing on the grass, learning about distillation, and sipping lavender tea in the cafe. It was terribly pleasant. A quick trip into St Helier helped us get our bearings a little, and we sat for a while in Liberation Square, admiring the memorial remembering May 1945, when the people were set free from five years of German occupation.

Our first morning at Highlands we were stunned by the superb breakfast put on - anything and everything we could possibly want. We went back into town to have a look around the streets, and found a cafe where we could use the internet for free while sipping on mochas. We had heard that the Logos II was berthed nearby, so we went over to see her, and spent an hour or so looking at books on board. There were lots of good books going for really cheap, so we stocked up and came away with laden arms.

The weather swiftly turned to custard during this week, and on Sunday morning we were blown to church with rain bucketing down upon us. We enjoyed attending Quennevais Evangelical Church. Everyone was very friendly, and we were even offered a lift back to the hotel. We had been advised to join the hotel residents for the Sunday lunch, and it was well worth it. Our table-mates were two lovely Irish ladies, and we had a lovely time chatting over the meal. It was nice to have a properly relaxing Sunday afternoon. We spent it snoozing, reading, resting, etc. . . and then joined in the evening service upstairs, where Derek Moon played the keyboard and spoke.

Jersey Pottery was another pleasant place that we visited. They make lovely pieces, and have a shop and gallery and some of the workshops open to view.

Monday being £3 movie night, we decided visit the cinema and see Ocean's 13, a good holiday movie (not one I'd choose to see if I had to pay more than £3, but). The theatre was practically abandoned, but we enjoyed ourselves. Back at the bus stop by our hotel, we struggled against the wind down to the coast to take some photos of Corbiere lighthouse. It was hard to take pictures when we couldn't even stand upright - one couldn't even hold the camera still - but we managed to get a few by leaning against the rocks.

A highlight of our time in Jersey was our visit to Gerald Durrell's Wildlife Conservation Centre. While we heard many comments about the zoo being a bit overgrown and scruffy, we found it really interesting, and appreciated the flora as being an attempt to keep the area more natural for the animals, rather than just unkempt. The aviaries were amazing - there were all sorts of rare and beautiful birds flying free around us - and we had fun in the reptile home trying to take photos of bright coloured frogs and peering over bits of bark looking for toads and snakes. It was a very informational zoo, and it was interesting to see where all the different beasties came from originally, and what they ate, and things.

A nice dinner of wood-fired pizza and ginger beer at St Aubin's bay made our last evening nice, though we did miss the bus back to the hotel and had to sit for an hour on the beach while we waited for the next one. Robyn went rambling while I sat and sketched, and then got herself stuck taking a shortcut up a sloped wall. Thankfully a random guy walked past and hauled her up before any damage was done. . .

We got to the airport very early the next day. . . terribly early. . . and sat reading our seedy novels for quite some time before we caught our flight. They have comfy chairs. Our flight was half empty, and we had a cool view of the island as we lifted off, before the clouds covered everything. A very smooth flight back to Gatwick was a peaceful way to end our trip, and we were happy to be home.