Jersey Walk Day 4

I woke up with a bottom lip swollen to about twice its normal size!!! Sun burnt lip… whatever next!?! Steve and Iva had decided to have a day off from walking today, and I’d decided to have a slower day too!!! They arranged to go to Portelet Bay for the day on the beach, which is on the headland between St. Brelade’s and St Aubins. The plan was for me to go earlier than them to St Brelade’s where we’d finished the day before and amble along to meet them at their beach and if I got bored, then I would carry on to St.Helier and leave them to it and then meet up with them later for tea.

I therefore set off on the now normal 9.35am bus into town. The busses to St Brelade’s were every half an hour, so I had a wander around town for a while, buying some pasties for breakfast from the indoor market and some bottles of drink for the day ahead. Also I bought a postcard and wrote it and posted it while waiting for the bus.

I got to St. Brelade’s at about 11.30am and ambled off along the beach towards Smugglers Inn at its far end. My map didn’t show a path up the headland and around, and so I set off up the lane for about half a mile inland and then doubled back again along the top to Portelet Common, which is a nature reserve. I followed a track out to the point above St Brelades Bay, where a BBC Radio Lady was seemingly interviewing somebody. Annoyingly a bloke was just on his way down a footpath to the beach!!! Grrrr!!! That was a mile’s walk for nothing then!!!! I made my way around the edge of Portelet Common, but there was no way down to Portelet Bay from there, and so I took to the lanes again and made my way to Portelet Inn.

The sun briefly behind a thin cloud as i set off on my own from St Brelade's down onto the beach.

Looking back down at St Brelade's Beach from Portelet Common after my rather long and pointless detaour:)

And again....

Looking right across the mouth of St Brelades Bay towards the prison.

At the seaward end of the headland of Portelet Common.

And looking into Portelet Bay from a little further around.

I decided to sit in the shade inside for a while and have some lunch and a drink or two, catch up with the diary and then make my way down to the beach for a while, and then carry on walking around to St.Helier. It was nice not to have to suck my rather too large lower lip for a while, as I’d been doing this all day to try to keep it out of the sun as much as possible today!!! While I was munching my rather nice but rather filling Fettucine Marinara and writing the diary, Iva came into the pub for the loo. They bought me another drink, but after the two pints I’d already had I was feeling decidedly sloshed, so Steve drank the rest!! Afterwards we went down to the beach for a while.

Descending the many steps to the bay from the Portelet Inn.

And on the beach.. pebbles and sand.

I had a float and sunbathe in the water and then set off on my way again at just gone 3pmish? Again, it was a matter of taking to the lanes due to a lack of true coastal paths around this headland which is a shame.!!! I trudged all the way out to Noirmon Point with its impressive defenses built by the germans during their occupation of the islands. I’m sure this sort of thing would be MORE impressive to me had I not seen it all soo many times before in my childhood holidays to Guernsey.

German defences on Noirmon Point.

And looking back at Portelet Bay from the same place.

Looking across St Aubins Bay right across to
St Helier at its eastern end.

I managed to find a cliff path along the eastern side of the headland from the point, but again it only re-joined the road out to the Portelet Inn, so I then trudged down this for a while, before taking a green track off to the right to St Aubins itself, which was a fairly steep descent at the end through large and exclusive looking houses. I stopped for a pint of soda water and lime at te Tenby Bars – feeling the heat and dehydration from the earlier beers methinks!!! I then set off on my trudge around the whole of St.Aubins Bay, having arranged to meet Steve and Iva at the far St.Helier end, by an upturned boat shaped café, at no later than 7pm.

From the cliff path leading to Portelet Road. St Aubins fort visible in the bay.

Right: The lovely St Aubins harbour and behind the sweep of sand that is St Aubin's Bay, from my descent into the town along the green track.

St Aubins Fort and behind St Helier.

The harbour in St Aubins.

I set off from St Aubins at just gone 5pm and made great time, doing the whole walk in just over an hour!!!! It would have been fairly boring, but I found the shoals of quite large fish porpoising lazily in the shallows quite fascinating. There were absolutely masses of them, especially at the St Aubins end.

I was shattered by the time I reached St Helier. This walk has definitely turned out to be harder than I imagined its measily 50ish miles to be before I came!!! This was probably due to the intense heat and relentless sun though!! We went for tea at a pub near the hospital and I had tagliatelle with wild mushroom, spinach and blue cheese sauce. It was yummy, but I was still full from all the pasta at lunch I think!!!! We caught the 8.45pm bus back after buying stuff for breakfast and lunch tomorrow to kill time. Although shattered we played cards until about 11pm and then went to bed.