Jersey Days

Before Dylan's chicken-spots appeared (but while he was unknowingly highly contagious) we had a delightful 5 day break on the island of Jersey. It was the first time we had packed wellies and beanies for a beach holiday - and we needed them too, as it was unseasonably chilly and windy. But we had enough bright blue sky days to enjoy our seaside experience, after over 4 months in landlocked Derbyshire.

Just off the French coast of Normandy, Jersey is an odd blend of quaint England and rural France. All streets are named in French, although no one speaks that language, and the houses are a mis-match of elegant, shuttered, pastel painted French homes and pebble-dashed English seaside semis. If England had at some point invaded France this is what it would look like - a France with pubs, tea and scones.

Dylan loved climbing over the rocks (in his wellies - a bit trickier than gripping with bare feet), looking for fish and crabs in the rockpools, and digging sand castles. I enjoyed the beachside cafes with homemade cakes and good coffee. The dramatic tides were remarkable, changing the landscape of the beach (and the accessibility of boats and small island lookouts) within an hour.

A highlight was the Norman castle, Mont Orgeuil, with it's breathtaking views over the village of Gorey ("it looks just like Balamory!" exclaimed Dylan) and the east coast of the island. Dylan and Sam dressed up as knights and jesters and loved exploring all the steep staircases and heavily fortressed rooms.

Durrell Wildlife Sanctuary was also a great experience - founded by Gerard Durrell, the Steve Irwin of England (just substitute tweed felt hat for khaki shorts). An amazing collection of rare animals, from orang-utangs and gorillas to lemurs and flamingoes. As it was a particularly freezing morning we kept to the humid indoor enclosures (ie reptiles) as much as possible.

Since our return, the weather has of course improved dramatically - the mercury crept over 20 degrees today and we all wore shorts to celebrate. Jason fired up our new BBQ for the second time in a week. Bring on summer!