| Brief Guide to Alderney (Channel Islands) |
| Alderney |
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Alderney is a great place for a beach holiday or a get-away-from-it-all break. It also has lots of wildlife and history. The people are very welcoming and it is a small community of about 2,400 people. The island is the northernmost Channel Island and is only a few miles from Cherbourg. The other large Channel Islands are Jersey, Sark and Guernsey. Administratively Alderney is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Main sources of income are tourism and income from people settling in or retiring to Alderney and this makes the island fairly outward-looking and hospitable. Traditional industries are farming and fishing, though more recently there has been a mini boom in internet gambling based in Alderney, taking advantage of its low tax regime and the internet's ubiquity.
The island is only about 3.5 miles by 1.5 miles in size and has one main town, St Anne's, which is where most of the population live. It is in the centre of the island and is on the higher ground. The other main settlement is around the harbour, Braye, on the North of the island. |
| Military history |
| Forts and gun emplacements and military fortifications dominate the coastline. These were constructed in two main phases: during the short periods 1850 to 1855 and 1940 to 1945. The first phase were British defences against the French, though ironically technology made these obsolete quite soon after they were completed (with the coming of ironclad ships and new artillery). The second phase of defence building was against the British by the Germans during the war. Alderney, like the other Channel Islands, was occupied from June 1940 to May 1945. This was a dark period for Alderney and surprisingly in many ways still overshadows the island to this day. However, unlike the other Channel Islands, Alderney was evacuated before the German occupation and the Germans brought in a large number of forced labourers (really slave labour) to build concrete bunkers and fortifications all around the island. There may have been up to 5,000 of these slave labourers who were largely Russian. Under the cruel conditions in which they lived and worked many were killed or driven to death. They were housed in the only German concentration camp that the Germans built on British soil - next to where the airport now stands. |
| Language, currency and conventions. |
| For a long time French was the dominant language of the island even though Alderney has been British territory for almost 1,000 years. A French-English patois developed in Alderney as it did in the other Channel Islands, but this was engulfed by English largely as a result of the influx of English workers brought in by the Victorians for fort-building. Although the currency is British (i.e. Sterling not Euros) the Guernsey-marked coinage and notes are widely used and you will probably return home with some of these to the UK mainland where you will have to explain that these are in fact legal tender there too. Although the Germans introduced driving on the right in 1940 this was reversed in 1945 and people now mostly drive on the left. The Aldernians have a large number of one way streets and are protective of how these are used - there are known cases of people being told off for walking the wrong way down a one way street! |
| Places to stay |
| There are many good places to stay in St Anne's and there is even a campsite at the Northeastern side of the island, at Saye, past Albert Fort. Perhaps the most spectacular setting is Fort Clonque on the West designed by the Victorian military engineer, William Jervois. The fort is cut off from the main island at high tides and provides such a dramatic setting that it has been used in films (including "Crest of the Wave"). It can be booked to stay in for holidays for groups of up to 13 people for a week, or a stay of three nights, through the Landmark Trust (landmarktrust.org.uk) a charity, which is dedicated to restoring and preserving buildings of historic interest. |
| Alderney week |
| This is the first week in August and is a local festival including a sandcastle building competition, a beard growing competition (start now!), a "daft raft race", a Miss Alderney, a strong man and strong woman competition and even a man-powered flight competition. This is a great week to visit the island, but do made sure you've got your accommodation sorted before you go. The island is under-provided with places to stay and "no vacancies" predominate in early August. |
| Alderney cow |
| The Alderney cow has for various reasons established a greater reputation than it really deserves. This is partly because it was often confused with similar breeds from Jersey and Guernsey, but also perhaps because ships were usually doing a round trip of the Channel Islands and Alderney would have been the last stop - hence the cattle cargo was sometimes wrongly labelled as Alderney when it had in fact come from Jersey or Guernsey. In all probability the Alderney Cow did exist as a distinct breed and would have been similar to Jerseys and Guernseys though somewhat smaller, but this breed is effectively now lost. |
| Property ownership |
| Unlike the other Channel Islands, Alderney allows foreign ownership of residential property to outsiders from the EU without residential requirements. |
| Tidal power |
| One of the best ways to harness tidal power is tidal streams and Alderney has some of the best tidal streams in Europe. Potentially it could generate 1,000 times as much energy as Alderney uses and it is close to the French grid controlled by EDF. At the moment there is an active research project but the higher price of oil and the availability of subsidies makes it likely that a commercial project to exploit tidal power will be attempted soon. It could be a major new export for Alderney. Typical of the tidal races around the island is "the Swinge" which runs between Alderney and the bird sanctuary of Burhou and there is another on the south called "The Race". Tides here run as fast as 12 knots. |
| Transport to the island |
| There are ferries from Guernsey and Cherbourg during the summer but the most common way of getting to the island these days is by small trilander plane (15 seater) operated by Aurigny from Southampton airport and Rockhopper from Brighton and Bournemouth (8 or 15 seater). These give a dramatic approach to the island if it is fog free. |
| Travel around the island |
| Many people walk but bicycles can be hired cheaply (about £5/day) from one of three or four different suppliers. |
| Things to do. |
 There are boat trips around the island, which can be booked in St Anne's at the fish shop at the bottom of Victoria Street and they leave from the harbour subject to good weather and adequate bookings.
In St Anne's there are lots of good eating out places including Indian and Thai restaurants.
There are coastal walks and Alderney Wildlife has set up a Nature and conservation centre on the coastal path near to the airport.
Most visitors will want to visit the museum which is run by the Alderney Society and includes much war memorabilia, an unusual bottle collection, fossil finds and an exhibition showing the nature conservation area off the North coast of the Island running up to the lighthouse at Les Casquets.
The overwhelming impression of the island is of peace and tranquillity: not exactly the island that time forgot but certainly a place to relax and recuperate. Most people who visit Alderney want to go back. |
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