August 8
This morning we got up and decided to hike out to Rozel Bay which is a couple of miles from the house. We took the long road along the beach - past a modern castle and an old medieval tower at Flicquet Bay, then along a trail to some 5,000 year old standing stones called Dolmen Rocks. It's thought to be some sort of burial site using standing rocks with a large rock ‘lid’ on them. At one point, there was a land bridge from France to Jersey, and the area has been inhabited for almost 10,000 years. There are a number of interesting archaeological sites on the island. Check out this map: http://www.prehistoricjersey.net
 |
| Fliquet Tower at Fliquet Bay |
 |
| Fliquet Tower - doorway halfway up! |
 |
| Buried WWII bunker |
 |
A modern-day 'castle' at Fliquet Bay. This is not the driveway - it's the road!
The road does a hairpin turn where Glen is. The house is built into the curve. |
 |
| Le Dolmen de Couperon - standing rocks |
We passed a couple of farms with “real Jersey cows” - they are a more streamlined and almost pretty cow. in 1763, a law was passed preventing the importation of any cattle, and so the pedigree of the Jersey cow has been protected for many years. There is actually a “Jersey herd book” which records the lineage of all the purebred cows. Although there is now some 'outside influence' (imported bull semen), any of those don’t make the book! If you’re interested in cows, you might already know this, but if you want more info, here it is: http://www.jerseydairy.je/the-jersey-cow
 |
| The pretty Jersey Cows |
Not all the way we travelled was forest pathway - we had to brave the narrow roads at a few points. It’s really funny to see the side of a house as the edge of the road. At many spots, there is really only room for one car and that’s it.
The plant life here is beautiful. We passed a hedge of fuchsia plants - gorgeous, as well as a hydrangea hedge. There are also these beautiful big flower balls that are purple - they are all pretty much finished now, so the pictures aren’t great - but they are really stunning.
 |
| A Fuchsia Hedge |
 |
| Sweet peas |
 |
| Hydrangea Hedge |
 |
| I don't know what these are - they are all over the island, and really pretty. |
 |
| What seems to be an unripened version of the picture above! |
 |
Not sure what these are - but they are like giant purple puffballs. Probably
5 - 6" across. Too bad the flowers are on the way out - when they are
fully in bloom, they were a lot prettier! |
Saw a pig on the way home, a cottage built in 1840 (one of many old ones) and an old steamer car passed us by - just another day on Jersey!
 |
| This pig kept snorting to get my attention. I think he wanted me to take his picture too! |
Later in the afternoon, Sarge took us on a drive (unfortunately it was pouring rain) to the local hostel, which used to be the island orphanage called Haut de la Garenne . . . and the home where Glen’s dad grew up many years ago! We had a good wander around, and took plenty of pictures to share once we get back to Vancouver.
 |
Entrance to Hat de la Garenne. The memorial stone behind Sarge and
Glen is for boys who lived there who perished in the wars. |
 |
| Haut de la Garenne - not so pretty at the back |
 |
| Haut de la Garenne - central courtyard |
We then stopped at La Pouquelaye de Faldouet (how could you not love a name like that!) It’s another of the standing stone graves like we saw this morning, only in better condition. The capstone is 24 tons! I have no idea how those people did it. It’s believed it was built about 6000 years ago (c.4000 - 3250 BC) and consists of a passage leading into a double chamber. The sign says ‘the main chamber is open and surrounded by a series of small stone boxes (cists) while the end chamber is covered by the massive 24-tone capstone. The whole site was originally encircled by a low mound with two drystone walls and a ring of upright stones. The site was first recorded in 1682 and was excavated three times before 1910. Human remains were found in the cists and finds from the chamber include pottery vessels, two polished stone axes and two stone pendants’
 |
| Can't push it off - it's a really heavy stone! |
 |
| The huge stone slab is being held up by these standing rocks |
There is so much history here - it’s really mind-boggling.
Some other random shots from the day:
 |
| A gate that caught my attention. My guess is these people like horses. |
 |
Glen found this ribbon in the hedge on our walk - it entertained
him for quite awhile as we headed home. |
 |
| The Mercedes Only parking was right beside this. |
We came home and had happy hour inside - it was raining so we couldn’t sit on the deck. Shortly afterwards, there was a double rainbow - very pretty.
 |
| Double Rainbow - sun is back out! |
No comments:
Post a Comment