Autumn/Winter 10/11

pAutumun/Winr ter e10/11 Jersey October on island Ginny Buckley A winter’s tale Roger Thomas Fine dining, bistros and beach cafés Norman Miller Open all year Nia Williams Plus… Shopping, attractions, activities arts and crafts, events A look at pure Jersey You can do it just as If you’ve not been to Jersey recently, at its warmest in September and well in autumn and you’ll find an island lifestyle that’s more October) are also a big part of that One of the big winter. We’re talking sophisticated than you may think. Our Jersey lifestyle. And our spa and shopping challenges posed about living the life, mouthwatering foodie scene invariably scene matches anything you’ll find in a by this little island Jersey-style. The wows visitors. Our hotels are world class. big city – but minus the hustle or hassle. is that it takes island isn’t one of those sad places that And there’s that unique Jersey ambience some describing. cold shoulders visitors when summer ends. that’s not quite English, not quite French. Live our life this autumn and winter. Do you start at Quite the opposite. Our restaurants and Continental café culture thrives here, but Corbière hotels don’t shut up shop – there’s too you don’t pay in euros. We drive on the Lighthouse in the wild west? Or in a starry much going on locally for that to happen. left, but many road signs are in French. seafood bistro on the waterfront at St Tumbleweed doesn’t roll down the streets Our beaches might mirror those in nearby Aubin? Do compelling prehistoric, medieval of St Helier, our buoyant, busy 365-days- Brittany, but our villages are pure and World War Two monuments define a-year capital. And, just like summer, Thomas Hardy. Jersey? Or is it the cosmopolitan vibe you you’re advised to pack your sunglasses get in St Helier or some of the island’s (Jersey is as far south as you can go in We’re a high energy island too. Walking, sleek hotels and spas? And what comes the British Isles). cycling, golf and watersports (the sea is first – Jersey’s idyllic beaches or its tranquil Green Lanes? We’ve tried, in pureJersey , to answer at least a few of those questions. I’m always telling friends that Jersey is the ultimate short-break destination. It’s ridiculously easy to get to by sea as well as air. Yet it’s surprisingly different (think of a fusion between cream-tea Cornwall and croissant-country just across the water, with a soupçon of city life thrown in). And it’s absolutely packed with things to see and do. I wore myself out trying – unsuccessfully – Inside pureJersey to fit everything into a weekend here last Christmas. You can read all about it along with articles from TV travel presenter 02 South Island 18 Jerseyfile: Shopping, Spas, Arts 34 A Room with a View Ginny Buckley, journalist Nia Williams and Autumn, apples, art… and absolutely and Entertainment St Aubin’s Bay from food writer Norman Miller on other fabulous walking the Somerville Hotel autumn and winter island escapades. That’s Ginny Buckley 22 Carry on Conserving Roger Thomas the other thing about pureJersey . It’s not How a wildlife charity and clifftop the usual holiday brochure full of bland, 07 Jerseyfile: Activities castle wrap up warm for winter 36 Publications boring, this-could-be-anywhere Nia Williams descriptions. It’s a proper travel and 08 Cool Food 37 Jersey Pass lifestyle magazine that paints an honest, It’s all good and tasty, in cosy cafés 26 Jerseyfile: Places to Visit authentic picture of the island. and cosmopolitan restaurants 38 Accommodation List Norman Miller 28 Expert Advice Read on, and you’ll see that Jersey doesn’t Inside information from 40 General Information shrink into its shell come autumn and 12 Jerseyfile: Food in-the-know locals winter. It’s busier – and a lot bigger – than Sarah Cilliers 41 Travelling to Jersey you may think. 14 A Reindeer-Free Zone and Tour Operators A Christmas break with a difference 32 Festivals and Events Roger Thomas 42 Jersey Map Christmas spirit at La Fête dé Noué Roger Thomas Editor – pureJersey pure Jersey ➾ book online at www.jersey.com 01 Cliﬀs tumble into the sea along Jersey’s rugged north coast No, we’re not talking about New Zealand. Jersey – the southernmost point in the British Isles – has much better weather. South TV presenter Ginny Buckley, host of the Travel Channel’s Holiday show, experiences some autumn sun, seafood and Island seasonal island traditions We’re sitting outside in the warm afternoon weekends away we didn’t have much of a busy main road, or that you might catch a sun, working our way through a platter of plan. We flew in to be greeted by torrential glimpse of the ocean around the high rise ‘Remi introduced us to the wild local oysters as waves crash onto the beach rain, but this pair of tough Northerners, building in front. L’Horizon couldn’t have in front of us beneath a brilliant blue sky. brought up on wet days by the seaside, been closer to the sand and sea. I pulled north coast with its rugged, Welcome to Sunday afternoon in Jersey. headed straight to the beach. St Ouen’s Bay back the curtains to our terrace to discover Not at the height of the summer but in late is a stunning five-mile stretch of sand and that our room was virtually on the beach rock-bound shoreline and dramatic October, the day the clocks went back and surf and in the 10 minutes it took us to get with a fantastic view across sheltered, the official end of British Summer Time. there from the airport the micro-climate of south-facing St Brelade’s Bay. coves scooped from high cliﬀs.’ Only no-one seems to have told Jersey Britain’s most southerly point had worked that summer is officially over. its magic. The rain stopped and rays of sunshine began to stream through the After many years spent travelling the world clouds. We bought coffee and scrumptious I’ve come to the conclusion that the savvy cakes from El Tico, a retro surf café, and sat ‘I’ve come to the traveller does his or her exploring in autumn. watching the surfers wax their boards and There’s a lot to be said for an autumn break. do their stuff. conclusion that the The crowds have gone, the hotels and restaurants have more time to take care of The pretty coastal road soon took us to our savvy traveller does you, and if you’re lucky you’re treated to home for the next couple of nights, sunshine that puts a spring in your step L’Horizon Hotel in St Brelade. Now we’ve all his or her exploring before the onset of winter. heard hotels use phrases like ‘beachfront’ and ‘ocean view’ in the hope of enticing you in autumn.’ It was with this in mind that the other half to stay. But what they usually mean is that and I headed to Jersey. As with all the best the hotel is ‘beachfront’ once you cross the 02 pure Jersey ➾ book online at www.jersey.com 03 South Island Crabs and lobsters at an Black Butter making autumn farmers’ market ‘First choice in Jersey has to be the seafood.’ Ginny and Remi go walking Slow food — cooking the mixture Location, location, location isn’t all L’Horizon Unsurprisingly, the island is something of an of volunteers are needed to help, so apple fire had been lit at seven that morning, the Carol and Peter Gay, who champion lesser- When your guide tells you that he once has going for it. It’s four star and friendly artists’ colony. Our next stop was Gorey on peelers at the ready we headed for The first of apples added at 11 and that the known local catches like trigger and dogfish, earned his crust leading walks through the with a warm welcome, great swimming pool the east coast, home to Jersey Pottery, an Elms, HQ for the National Trust for Jersey cooking and reducing of the apples would nestled next to succulent crab and lobster. Guatemalan jungle you know you’re in for and excellent restaurants. We had dinner at award-winning ceramics company run by who are determined to keep the continue throughout the small hours well Vegetables from the organic farm of Steve an interesting time. Remi promised us a few the Grill Restaurant, where Executive Chef the Jones family since 1954. From humble tradition alive. into the next day. Sugar, spices, liquorice and Jacquie Jones brightened up the day hours filled with a mix of legend and lots of Nicholas Valmagna and his team use as much beginnings as a small local attraction, its and lemons are added to the mixture with their vivid colours, and free-range fact. He didn’t disappoint, introducing us to seasonal produce as possible in dishes so distinctive work is now sold worldwide. We Their handsome 18th-century farm which is constantly stirred with a long- meats and sausages from Jon Hackett the wild north coast with its rugged, rock- inventive that it made me want to try happily whiled away a few hours strolling and estate was alive with laughter and music handled paddle known as a rabbot to (who has seen his hobby turn into a thriving bound shoreline and dramatic coves everything.

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