Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

There was also an exhibition of how the Castle came to be built and the popularity surrounding it in the Centuries gone by. There was originally soldiers stationed at the Castle, complete with no married quarters, simply a blanket hoisted up to separate the single soldiers from a married couple and a room could house up to 4 soldiers and two spouses.

There were two of the original registers on display, which showed which soldiers were posted to the Castle and from which regiment. The photos below were taken in a fair dark room with the books behind safety and security glass, with a mixture of natural and electric light, therefore the photos are not as I would have especially have liked. Of course what is wonderful is that these books have survived not only the test of time, but also the Occupation during the Second World War.

Outside in the parade ground, one of the Jersey Heritage Volunteers was dressed in dress of the time. He was, like the medical chap, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject matter. He gathered a group of visitors and taught them how to march and included the children present as boy soldiers!

Then came the cannon display of exactly how the soldiers would have used the cannon to defend the Castle and subsequently the island. It was fascinating.

The Castle is also home to the archives and Museum of The Royal Jersey Militia Regiment.

We had a a late flight back to the South West, which meant that we got an extra day into our holiday. We awoke this morning, with very little to do, apart from breakfast and check out. The packing had been done the night before and the hotel had agreed to store our cases until we needed to depart for the airport. The weather was bright, sunny and a little blowy and we had planned to use today to visit the one place that we had seen pretty much every day – Elizabeth Castle.

Here it is, on our first night, tantalising us!

Owned by Jersey Heritage, we purchased our tickets at the kiosk on the side of the beach. The tide was still in, but our fee had included the ferry ride. I say ferry ride, but it was a little different to what we expected.

Photo taken through the window, therefore not a very clear image!

Jersey Pearl lies on the outskirts of St. Ouen’s Bay, west of St. Helier. It was another blustery day and we decided that we would visit. We had a look at the small exhibition detailing how Pearls are made and where in the world they are found, then looked at the items made on the island. Whilst it was lovely jewellery, it would be completely wasted on me, but it was a joy to see.

We then spotted something, different. A tank which housed some of the shells.

The option was to select a shell for a fee, then the pearl inside is graded and certified and can be made into anything that you wish.  What a fabulous idea, I was quite taken with this and so we selected two shells.

Each of the shells yielded a pearl. It is firstly dabbed in the pot of salt then given a light wash in water. Then dried and graded by size and colour. We elected to keep the shells also. The shells are boiled for a few minutes in hot water then can be varnished with clear nail polish. We bought these for our Mum’s. My Mum has hers and she hasn’t decided if she would like it mounted into a ring or neckless. Stuart’s Mum does not have hers yet, as we will take it on our next visit to Scotland. We could have had the pearls mounted at the time, or can taken them back later to be mounted.

Sunday’s in Jersey tend to be quieter than back home. The tourist places are open, as are the cafes and restaurants, but most shops are closed. It some ways it reminded me of Sunday’s when I was a child and no shops were open apart from the small newsagents and corner shops.

So, after yesterday’s complete downpour today was dry, some sun and fairly windy. We had spent a small amount of time in Gorey when we were on the island tour earlier in the week, but wanted to explore a bit further and visit Jersey Pottery.

A slow walk down to Liberation Station and we boarded the bus along to Gorey, alighting at the nearest stop to the Pottery. Jersey Pottery has been in existence since 1946, and was probably one of the first new businesses after the war. The Kilns were visible, but alas not working, probably because it was Sunday. We had a wander around the Pottery shop. Several bits caught my eye, a lovely large dog bowl decorated with fish would have been wonderful, but we pondered on could we manage to get it back on the plane in one piece and I sadly made the decision that it would be risky. We did buy a lovely vase for Mum, which was decorated in the flowers in this photo and produced to commemorate the Royal Wedding of Prince William in April 2011.

Having had a walk, in a fairly strong breeze we were in need of a sit down and perhaps a light snack. We selected a little place in Gorey Harbour called Cafe Louise and both had a Jersey Cream Tea. I wish I had taken a photo of it, but I didn’t. A photo would have supported the description, it was simply delicious! Served with both clotted cream and butter, a pot of jam and the softest scone was a small slice of angel cake. It is unusual to have a cream tea served with cake in addition to the scone, but that’s how they do it on Jersey! The clotted cream was also a bit thinner than usual, but they was good – easier to spread!