• Jersey Beach is stunning on a summer’s day. Expl re Channel Islands JerseyWords: Antonia Windsor & Guernsey ith their fabulous coastal cliff paths, How to Get There dramatic wartime history, unusual wildlife and reputation for first-class dining, Award-winning Condor Ferries runs a daily passenger the Channel Islands make a fascinating service from Poole to Guernsey and Jersey. As well W as enjoying fresh sea air and great views along with a destination for groups of all sizes. With an extended season, they’re ideal for trips in the autumn and spring too. leisurely meal or drink, there’s an onboard duty-free shop. Passengers board the modern fast ferry as foot Essential Sights - Jersey passengers due to the restrictions on the size of the vehicle that can be loaded on to the vessel and the La Mare Wine Estate: Groups can do a tour and tasting, width of Jersey and Guernsey’s roads. Prearranged learning about historic cider production on the island and coach or minibus hire can meet your group at the how wine is made in this most southerly British winery. harbour. Sizeable discounts are offered to group Products to sample include the unique black butter – a local travel operators. spiced apple preserve – and the artisanal Royal gin. www.condorferries.com Woodlands Farm: Get up close to the famous brown Jersey cows and sample their rich creamy milk. Groups can feed the baby cows, walk to see the herd grazing in a nearby field and eat a delicious cream tea in the barn. War Tunnels: Learn more about the five-year occupation of the island by the Germans during the World War Two in this moody and atmospheric award-winning attraction. If group-bonding is on your agenda you can try the Escape Room challenge where participants need to find clues, break codes and solve puzzles to find the key to their freedom. La Houge Bie: History buffs can explore prehistoric dolmens at one of Britain’s finest medieval castles at Mont • Condor Ferries offers great group Orgueil and German bunkers on the headlands. discounts to the islands . groupleisureandtravel.com May 2019 53 53-55 Explore Channel Islands GLT May 2019.indd 53 03/05/2019 16:41 Explore: Channel Islands Where to Stay The Merton Hotel, Jersey: With group discounts for bookings of ten rooms or more, the hotel offers superb leisure facilities, including the island’s only flowrider and nightly evening entertainment. www.seymourhotels.com/merton-hotel/ Cobo Bay Hotel, Guernsey: For an affordable place to stay with spectacular views, this three-star hotel overlooks one of Guernsey’s most beautiful bays. It’s a family- run boutique hotel with 34 rooms, an award-winning restaurant and health suite. www.cobobayhotel.com Best for Groups - Guernsey For active members: Attractions are varied and include surfing lessons at Vazon Bay through Guernsey Surf School, which offers a discount for groups; karting in an all-weather indoor track at Karting Guernsey and foraging with Wild Guernsey, who can teach your group how to spot edible seaweed, rock samphire and other plants, as well as bush skills, such as how to light a fire without matches. Military history: Guernsey has its own occupation history, which you can learn about at the German Occupation Museum (reduced entry for groups of ten or more), or at Pleinmont Tower, a five-storey observation tower built by the Germans and open to the public between April and October. On location: Fans of the book or film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society can take a guided walk with a • The tranquil Little local expert who will reveal the locations mentioned in Chapel on Guernsey. the story, including the exquisite Little Chapel, which is decorated in thousands of pieces of broken pottery. 75th anniversary of Jersey’s Liberation The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to fall into enemy hands, when they were occupied by Nazi Germany between 1940 -1945. To mark the 75th anniversary of Jersey’s liberation, there’ll be a number of events and experiences throughout 2020. Group itineraries are available including a visit to the Radio Tower which has been sympathetically restored in a German modernist Bauhaus style with a wooden staircase taking you to the top of the tower. https://business.jersey.com/liberation-75-itineraries 54 May 2019 groupleisureandtravel.com 53-55 Explore Channel Islands GLT May 2019.indd 54 03/05/2019 16:41 Explore: Channel Islands Wonderful Wildlife Walkers will be in paradise on Jersey with coconut gorse- scented cliff-path walks, a network of 15mph green lanes and guided beach walks that explore the dramatic tidal range, including walks to see the bioluminescence after sunset. Wildlife lovers can learn more about Gerald Durrell’s legacy at Jersey Zoo or hit the water on a Seafaris RIB tour, seeking out the • Stroll across Herm’s bottlenose dolphins. picturesque clifftops. Bicycles are banned on Herm, but very much Explore Further - Herm & Sark encouraged on Sark. Walking is also superb, particularly across the dramatic Coupee that divides Sark from The small car-free islands of Herm and Sark are both adjoining Little Sark. Gardeners will enjoy a visit to La accessible from Guernsey as day trips. Herm can be Seigneurie Gardens, the grounds of Sark’s 17th-century walked around in two hours and you can admire the granite Manor House, a good place to stop for a Sark beaches or puffins and dolphins playing off the coast. cream tea. A 20-minute boat ride from Guernsey’s capital St Peter Port means, it is easy to transport your group there and The northerly Channel Island of Alderney is a bit more back in a day. out on a limb and would be best done separately Enjoy group discounts to JERSEY & GUERNSEY Travel by sea on our award-winning, high-speed service and arrive in Guernsey in just 3 hours, Jersey in 4½. To book, call 01202 207 242 or email [email protected] groupleisureandtravel.com May 2019 55 53-55 Explore Channel Islands GLT May 2019.indd 55 03/05/2019 16:41.