last modified 15.07.2010
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Tuesday, June 17
First thing we want to do today is to visit Elizabeth Castle in the south-west of the capital.
If there is low tide, you are able to reach the island by foot. If you go to see the fortress
by high tide, you can take over by a so called
Puddle Duck – an amphibian.
We haven’t entered yet, when we discover something truly extraordinary. Two Eurasian
oystercatchers brood right on top of the fortress wall and they can’t even be
distracted by the many tourists.
Within the fortress, we are introduced to the shooting of muskets by some costumed staff. Each day at noon, the staff recruits some male tourists to fire a gun salute in honor of the govenor. We heard about this before and we are at the fortress at 11 o’clock.
There weren’t many volunteers to be part of the gun salute. After the men had been drilled for quite some time, they marched to the gun. What we didn’t know before about the gun salute was that we are introduced to the history of gun techniques which was, to put it politely, rather long-winded. This is when our tight schedule got a bit of a mess.
After the shot was finally fired, we hurry to our rental car which are, by the way, quite inexpensive on the island and we head to Hamptonne Country Life Museum.
This visit hasn’t been on our agenda before, but since it is included in our tourist pass we give it a chance – only to discover that it is one of the highlights of our trip. At Hamptonne Country Life Museum, we can enjoy original Jersey-food including Jersey Bean Crock and Jersey Cabbage Loaf. It is a traditional bean stew with pork in a home-made white bread and a coat of cabbage.
The bread, which is baked in a wood stove, gets a unique taste by its covering in cabbage. The good soul of the house – a traditionally costumed elderly woman – is much interested in our resons why we came to Jersey in the first place and tells us many anecdotes from her life and her experiences as an extra in “Jim Bergerac”.
To sum it up, Hamptonne can be described as the island’s resting place. Not only can you see many historical devices in lovely restored buildings, but you can also discover a variety of local animals. To top it up, the area was the location for the movie “Under the Greenwood Tree”.
In the evening, we go to the island’s north and visit Greve de Lecq and the remains of Grosnez Castle. We enjoy the sunset at St. Queen’s Bay.