The Channel Islands 



A general swvey of the islands 



The Channel Islands are unique in that they form the only remaining remnants of the ancient 

 Norman provinces subject to the British Crown. In 1066 the Channel Islands known in French as Les lies 

 Normandes was a part of the Duchy of Normandy. When William the 7th Duke of Normandy invaded 

 England and won at the Battle of Hastings against King Harold, William the Conqueror became William 1st 

 of England. In 1 204 King John lost nearly all Normandy but the Channel Islanders remained loyal to the 

 English Crown. The successors of William the Conqueror had confirmed by Charter the complete 

 independence of Les lies Normandes, in return for the allegiance of the islanders to the Dukedom of 

 Normandy and to successors of the English Crown. 



Politically therefore they now form the southernmost extremes of the British Isles, but 

 geographically they are offshore islands of France. Alderney, at a distance of some 60 miles, is the nearest of 

 the islands to the English coast, with Jersey, at 95 miles, being the furthest away. They form an archipelago 

 of islands straddling the Passage de Deroute in the English Channel on the French side of the Median Line in 

 the Baie de S. Malo. The inhabited islands vary considerably in size, from the tiny islet of Jethou off the 

 west coast of Herm, to the largest of the islands, Jersey. Alderney, the closest to France, is just 9 miles off 

 the coast, with the furthest west being Guernsey at 28 miles. The British Channel Islands fall into three 

 definable groups. The northerly grouping of islands consists of Alderney, along with Les Casquets, Burhou, 

 Ortac and Les Etacs. A central cluster consists of Guernsey, Herm, Jethou, Sark and Brecqhou, along with 

 numbers of islets and rocks of varying size. The southerly group contains Jersey and further south still, Les 

 Ecrehous and Les Minquiers. This latter group of islets form the southernmost range of the British Channel 

 Islands. Further south still are the tiny Isles Chausey that belongs to France and lay northwest of Grandville 

 on the Normandy coast. Politically the British Channel Islands are divisible into the independently governing 

 Bailiwick's of Guernsey and Jersey. Guernsey Bailiwick covers the Alderney group, Guernsey, Herm, 

 Jethou, Sark and Brecqhou and all their adjacent smaller islets. Jersey Bailiwick covers Jersey, Les Ecrehous 

 and Les Minquiers. 



Though varying considerably in size and to a certain degree also exhibiting their individual 

 microclimates, the islands as a whole are barely comparable to Greater London in total acreage. Due to their 

 southerly latitude, the general climate is milder and slightly warmer than southern England. Topographically 

 every island is very distinctive from each other, most noticeably in their size, shape and general land 

 formation. Because of their very irregular outlines, the coastline for each individual island is deceptively 

 large. Sark for example, with a total acreage of 1,348 acres, covers three and a half miles at its greatest 

 length, and one and a half mile at its width, but has an amazing coastline measuring some 40 miles in total. 

 Each island offers, in varying degrees, an extent of inaccessible cliff formation as part of their coastlines. 

 All, to a certain degree have their own general land incline, which to a large extent helps to fashion the 

 habitats and their individual microclimates. Alderney has high cliffs around its western end, which gradually 

 slope down to sea-level on the northern seaboard and its easterly reaches. Burhou is a large formation of 

 rocks with a central high point. High-tide divides the rocky area by water to form Burhou Reef on its 

 western side. Guernsey has high cliffs along its southern seaboard that curl slightly around the west and east 

 coasts, and has a general slope down to sea-level at its northernmost point. Herm is similar with cliffs around 

 the south coast, having the highest point near the centre and then sloping down towards low sand-dunes in 

 the north and sloping sideways west and east reaching sea-level. Jethou is oval, forming a large central 

 hump, but otherwise presenting a largely unbroken cliff-face. Sark, almost exceptional in presenting a high 

 cliff-face around its entire coastline, with a predominantly northerly sloping incline at the north end of the 

 island, is partitioned into virtually two inhabited land masses by the spectacular Le Coupee. Topped by a 

 road, Le Coupee forms a high cliff-faced and narrow isthmus, which links Little Sark and Great Sark. 

 Brecqhou, like Sark, has an unbroken high coastline, but is highest in the east and slopes to the west. Jersey 

 presents a more varied coastline, featuring high cliffs, plus some famous large bays, notably the miles of the 

 very exceptional sands of St. Ouen's Bay, St. Aubin's and Grouville Bay. The island as a whole has a 

 general slope from north to south. In clear weather, from various viewpoints on central islands like Guernsey 

 and Sark, there are not only views of the remaining islands and their intervening waters, but also the sighting 

 of an extensive stretch of the French coastline forming part of the Cherbourg Peninsula. From the air, 

 dramatic views are obtainable of both the French coast and the entire island archipelago. Sea travel affords 

 its own special changing views of the approaching islands, somewhat baffling to the inexperienced visitor, 

 but always exhilarating. For ornithologists there are the added delights and fascination of sea-birds, with 

 perhaps the most rewarding being the gannets, especially when the boat is close by the gannetries of Ortac 

 and Les Etocs off the coast of Alderney. 



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