Guernsey, Channel Islands - travel review

Guernsey, the second largest of the Channel Islands, is the perfect place to wind down and relax.

Coach tours offer a stress-free break in a place that boasts 2,000 hours of sunshine a year. All holidaymakers need to do is get their case to the right place at the right time. Everything else is arranged for them. Just get on board, sit back, relax, enjoy the sights and scenery while listening to the guide and admiring the skill of the driver. It is also a good way to make new friends.

Guernsey is an increasingly popular destination and now has even more to offer post Brexit. The falling value of the pound has made many overseas holidays more expensive but not in Guernsey. It has never been a member of the European Union and retains its own version of our currency – so a pound is still worth a pound. There is also no VAT which cuts prices by a further 20 per cent.

The island is independent of the UK but part of the British Isles and geographically closer to France meaning it has an attractive continental feel. You leave this country without actually reaching Europe.

Some coach tours include air travel but I travelled down to Poole where I boarded a Condor ferry that carries up to 250 cars and 900 passengers for the three-hour crossing. Bring a passport as proof of identity.

Comfortable seating, catering, duty free goods, the chance to get outside and enjoy the sea air coupled with seamless boarding and disembarking made it an enjoyable experience. The ferry docked at picture postcard St Peter Port which has an attractive French flavour and is reckoned to be one of Europe's prettiest harbour towns.

The island prides itself on its food which was excellent at the friendly Peninsular Hotel – where I stayed on the island's north west coast overlooking the Grand Havre Bay – and the lively Pickled Pig in St Peter Port but my favourite was a Guernsey speciality, lobster, that I wolfed down at one of the small bistros lining the harbour front.

Spend a day exploring the island's varied history that includes Castle Cornet which stands guard over St Peter Port harbour. It features five museums telling the story of various aspects of the island and the castle's maritime and military history dating back 800 years.

A fleet of smaller coaches run by Island Coachways carry you in comfort throughout the island with charming and knowledgeable commentaries from the friendly drivers.

The German Occupation Museum offered a fascinating introduction to life in Guernsey from 1940 to 1945, including an authentic recreation of a street during the occupation.

It's the work of one man, farmer Richard Heaume, whose interest was triggered as a child by an empty shell case found among the hedgerows of his father's land.

Ten years later the wartime memorabilia he had collected covered everything from mines through uniforms to army vehicles and liberation banners. I shared my tour with a group of enthusiastic local schoolchildren eagerly researching their island's history. The museum won the 2016 tourist attraction award.

Sausmarez Manor is another treasure. Its charming and enthusiastic owner gave me a tour of the centuries old family home with spectacular sub tropical gardens and sculpture park.

I enjoyed a brief trip to the Guernsey freesia centre and saw the house where French author Victor Hugo lived for 15 years.

There is also ample opportunity for walkers and cyclists with guided coastal tours along the picturesque coast and quaint country lanes.

Six miles to the east of Guernsey and just 20 miles from the Bay of St Malo in Normandy lies Sark where less than 500 people live, although the population can double in summer.

The boat takes an hour to reach the charming island of Sark where you step back in time to a car-free world with personal transport limited to foot, bicycle or horse drawn carriage.

I hired a bike from Avenue Cycle and felt like a kid as I happily peddled along traffic-free paths in the sunshine with the added attraction of breathtaking sea views at almost every turn. The 22 miles of coastline are littered with coves and beaches that nestle beneath towering cliffs. There are horse and carriage tours for those wanting a more leisurely tour of the bays, headlands and coastal walks.

But if you prefer Shanks's Pony there is abundant unspoiled landscape carpeted with wild flowers, together with birds and insects, for ramblers to enjoy. The clear waters are a favourite with scuba divers and perfect for kayaking.

If you want an out-of-this-world experience, it's a great place to star gaze with unpolluted darkness, making the planets of the solar system easily distinguishable.

Sea caves on the Goulding Headland are full of anemones, sponges and soft corals, one reason why the island has been declared a Wetland of International Importance.

Wildlife Fortnight tours run in April and May while the La Seigneurie Gardens must not to be missed. They are a real joy and were still a blaze of colour when I visited in October. Crime is almost unheard of on the island that has a jail with room for just one person. The last serious crime was apparently committed 18 years ago when a man was found guilty of assault.

Sark is a world apart and perfect venue for a day trip or holiday. There are a couple of hotels, comfortable guest houses, self catering establishments and two campsites for those wanting to stay overnight.

By John Scott