I walked Jersey's wonderful coast — here's my guide

Times

2 days ago

'You should have come last week,' said almost everyone who heard that I was in Jersey to walk the Tidal Trail, a 48-mile coastal route around the island. Apparently I'd just missed the 34th annual charity hike, which starts at 3am and is completed in one punishing day.
Like the fundraising hikers I began my walk in St Helier, the capital; unlike them I set off after a leisurely breakfast, turning left out of the renowned Victorian-era Grand Jersey Hotel & Spa onto the Esplanade and taking in my first long views of a sea scattered with granite outcrops. Furthermore, I'd given myself three days to complete the route around the largest of the Channel Islands. Beyond its commercial centre, St Helier has the vibe of an old-fashioned English seaside town: Regency stuccoed houses adorned with delicate ironwork, beach kiosks and the inevitable outraged squawk of herring gulls.
Not so long ago, before the advent of cheap package holidays to the Costas, Jersey was a popular destination for Brits seduced by the island's exotic French names yet reassured by its familiar culture. Inspired by the South West Coast Path and the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland, the newly launched trail aims to appeal to a different type of visitor — one attracted to activities such as walking, surfing, kayaking and cycling, and those drawn to the island by its rich heritage.
I snaked my way around the southeast coast, watching the sea mutate from a steel grey to a Caribbean blue as the skies cleared. I passed empty beaches and quiet bays fringed with tamarisk and Monterey pine and the fortifications that are a constant reminder of the island's turbulent history, from its 18th-century watchtowers to the concrete bunkers of the Nazi occupation.
The trail is as much about stopping as it is about walking, and eight miles later I spent a glorious hour exploring Mont Orgueil Castle, the medieval citadel that towers over the pastel-painted cottages of Gorey Harbour, where fishing boats swayed on the outgoing tide.
This eastern coast felt like south Cornwall without the crowds — its wooded coves scented with pine resin and quiet beaches where the occasional swimmer or family were enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. Shady paths and lanes passed neolithic dolmens, standing stones and burial mounds that are remnants of Jersey's prehistoric past.
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At Rozel Bay, after 14 miles of walking and as the level east coast tipped towards the rocky north, I tucked into fish and chips at the smart Rozel gastropub (mains from £17; rozelpubanddining.co.uk) before a well-timed bus carted my tired legs back across the island to St Helier. Rather than overnighting along the route I divided my four-night stay into two centres, making use of the excellent bus network (and the occasional taxi) to ferry me between the endpoints of my walk and my accommodation.
Turning right out of my hotel the next morning I headed west along St Aubin's Bay, with views to 16th-century Elizabeth Castle, stranded off the coast by the high tide. Jersey has some of the cleanest beaches in Europe and the pristine bay spread before me, its sand the colour of unrefined sugar.
An hour later I paused for a coffee in the fishing village of St Aubin, set against a backdrop of woody hills. With its tree-shaded cobbled squares, pantiled roofs and pavement cafés, St Aubin felt more Breton than British. The French coast looked incredibly near, almost as though I could reach out and touch it.
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The trail hugs Jersey's coastline along the rugged cliff paths around Noirmont Point, at the southwestern corner of the island. With the midday sun beating down I decided instead to follow a disused railway, now a shady walking and cycle track, which took me towards La Corbière Lighthouse. The track emerged onto a heather-covered headland, nudging into the Atlantic. Reached by a causeway at low tide, the gleaming white beacon of the lighthouse stood perched atop its rock, with yachts gyrating close by.
I rested for a while on the headland listening to oystercatchers before bearing north along St Ouen's Bay, following paths alongside marram-strewn dunes with views to Sark, Guernsey and Alderney and skylarks overhead. This five-mile-long, west-facing beach is a surfer's favourite, the austere wartime structures of Hitler's Atlantic Wall having been repurposed as a surf school, a quirky holiday let and a seafood restaurant — delightfully rustic Faulkner Fisheries at L'Etacq, where I lunched outdoors on succulent barbecued sardines served with butter-drenched Jersey Royal potatoes as the wind lashed my hair (mains from £12; faulknerfisheries.com).
It was near St Brelade, overlooking St Ouen's Bay, that I stayed for the next two nights in understated elegance at the Atlantic Hotel, high above the beach. After a dip in the pool to rinse off the 14 miles, and a long G&T, I strolled through the hotel gardens in the warm evening air to watch the sun dip over the ocean.
If my first day's walk was about sheltered coves and wooded bays, and the second day wild, windswept beaches, my final walk along the northern coast was all dramatic granite headlands washed by blue-green seas, secretive bays, hidden caves, ruined castles, beach cafés and narrow cliff paths punctuated by long flights of steps — those familiar with the north Cornish coast will feel at home here.
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I started the morning at Les Landes, a ten-minute taxi ride from my hotel in the northwest corner of the island. Within the Jersey National Park, this empty, windswept heathland — scattered with vestiges of human activity dating from prehistory — is a haven for wildlife.
Unlike on the north Cornish coast I passed few other walkers and was alone on the path with the purpling heather, yolk-yellow gorse, butterflies, dragonflies and the endless vistas of serrated headlands unravelling into the horizon. I've no head for heights, but although the paths twisted hundreds of feet above the sea, they never felt precipitous.
The only section of my 12-mile walk that I found a tad dizzying was the final descent, via steps so steep that my ears popped, to the tiny sheltered cove of Bonne Nuit, where I sat outside a café and devoured an ice cream. I checked my smartwatch — I'd covered 40 miles in my three days' walking the Tidal Trail: eight miles short of the circumnavigation of the island accomplished by the charity hikers in fewer than 24 hours.
All the more reason to lug my hiking boots back to Jersey one day, and finish what I'd started.
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Gail Simmons was a guest of Visit Jersey (jersey.com); the Grand Jersey Hotel & Spa, which has B&B doubles from £140 (handpickedhotels.co.uk); the Atlantic Hotel, which has B&B doubles from £190 (theatlantichotel.com); and Jet 2 (jet2.com). Fly to St Peter
• Jersey Walk Adventures offers specialist guided beach walks, including bioluminescence night walks and an oyster trail (jerseywalkadventures.co.uk)• A Discover Jersey pass allows unlimited travel by bus (from £10; libertybus.je). Book an electric taxi or luggage transfer with Ryde (ryde.je)• A seven-day Heritage Pass gives you access to many of the most important historic sites (from £50; jerseyheritage.org)• Much of the Tidal Trail can be walked as shorter circular routes, making use of Jersey's Green Lanes network, which gives priority to pedestrians and bikes • If you're walking along the beach, check the tide times. Jersey has the third highest tidal range in the world, so be careful not to become cut off by incoming tides (m.gov.je)• Pack a swimsuit and towel to take with you on walks and make use of the many opportunities for a dip along the coast, or enjoy a beachside sauna (saunasociety.co.uk)