So many exciting things happened on this trip it would have been a disservice to condense them all into one blog post, so here is the final chapter so to speak. You might also enjoy my thoughts on Sark and our first few days on Guernsey.

As you may be able to guess from the title (or not if like me you thought the Channel Islands only consisted of Guernsey and Jersey before visiting) we took time to cross the waters once more to visit Guernsey’s closest non attached neighbour Herm.

Herm is easily reached from St Peter Port harbour on Trident Ferries who whisk you off to its white sand beaches hourly during the day with the crossing taking 20 minutes. One of our best moves was stopping off at a patisserie en route to get some ‘snacks’ for second breakfast.

These were then duly consumed accompanied by Peter the pigeon on the southern coastal reaches of Herm. A whole circumnavigation of the island takes about two hours. We had picked our day to visit specifically as the weather appeared to be allowing proper bikini on beach time! The day did not disappoint. Shell beach became our mini home for some excellent tea and sandwiches from the kiosk and some snoozing in the sun. It had already been quite an active week so we decided not to take up the offer of paddleboard and kayak rental.

A lazy day with beautiful views was rounded off by completing our circumnavigation an ice cream and return trip to St Peter Port. We had thought about staying on Herm but I think on balance a day trip, for us, was just the right amount of time.

Special mention has to go to Tinto tapas restaurant for granting us a very warm welcome despite the fact that we still had sand visible and looked like we’d swum back from Herm. Their non judgmental service, excellent gins and sublime tapas will be remembered for a long time!

Our penultimate day saw us justify second breakfast by battling some fairly hardy headwinds on our cycle down to the south of the island again to visit the Pleinmont headland before a daring seacrossing (or not so daring tidal causeway walk) to Lihou. Ashamedly I hadn’t been aware of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during the second world war. There are constant reminders of it all around Guernsey as it became heavily fortified by the German occupiers from 1940-1945. The Germans instructed the building of multiple lookout towers to act as defense against Allied attack. Those towers are still very much in evidence today and provide a stark contrast to the natural beauty of the island. Their presence however is an important reminder of the history of the islands and their people.

After a picnic lunch from Waitrose in a petrol station we waited for the tides to reveal the causeway to Lihou Island. Only accessible on foot for 2 out of every 4 weeks we were excited that we could fit it into our itinerary. We also discovered you can rent out a fully equipped house on it! Staying over would be a real adventure. However our sources of adventure were rock pools and seagull chick spotting – surprisingly difficult due to their camouflage.

My only true disappointment of the whole trip was that we had planned to go surfing on Friday evening with Guernsey Surf School, sadly the waves had done a runner and surfing was off the cards. Never mind; it gives me another reason to add to the list to return. I can’t wait.

If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy the other two posts in this series – my thoughts on Sark and its folk festival and a lot of talk of Guernsey Gache along with top tips for its best bays and beachside cafes.