Walk West: St Helier to Grosnez

Discover Big bays and Huge Headlands

Feet First

Jersey’s south coast is dominated by big, beautiful St Aubin’s Bay. What’s more, it has a 3½-mile sea wall and promenade linking St Helier to the picturesque harbour village of St Aubin, ideal for a leisurely stroll with plenty of beach cafés along the way.

St Aubin isn’t the end of the road. From here you have two options. The first leads along the old railway line (now a delightful tree-lined pathway) to Corbière and a dramatically located lighthouse, one of the island’s most famous landmarks.

The second walk takes you along the harbour front and up the steeply winding hill, Mont du Boulevard, towards the Noirmont and Portelet headlands. These headlands, covered by a mix of thick gorse, dwarf shrub heathland and lichen-rich grassland, command spectacular sea views.

Portelet Common is a 77-acre/31-hectare reserve rising 200ft/61m above sea level. Its northern edge overlooks low-lying L’Ouaisné Common, where the habitat is quite different. Sitting at sea level and separated from the beach by a sea wall, L’Ouaisné is a protected area – so please keep to pathways.

From here, you can take an exhilarating beach walk along sheltered, south-facing St Brelade’s Bay, one of Jersey’s best-known stretches of sand. Up on the headland west of the bay (above Beauport Bay) is Les Creux Millennium Park. What was once open farmland has been turned into a country park of around 110 acres/45 hectares with a diverse range of habitats including pasture and arable fields, acid grassland, woodland and coastal heathland.

The coastal strip of steep sea-cliffs along its southern border has wonderful views across to St Brelade’s Bay and Portelet Common. Public access to Les Creux is good, with a network of footpaths across the park together with a section of the south-west coast cliff path from St Brelade to La Pulente.

West-facing St Ouen’s Bay, with massive sands stretching for over four miles, is possibly the island’s most dominant feature. The sand dunes backing the beach are worth a visit – but please wear suitable footwear. They appear flat but undulate and can be stiff-going on the legs! The bay’s sea wall is ideal if you simply want to enjoy the views or watch the surfers – and maybe stop at a café along the way.

The north-west coastal headland known as Les Landes heading up to Grosnez Point and its ruined castle is largely coastal heathland with low-lying plant species. It’s firm going underfoot and easy to explore with a good network of well-defined paths – but it’s also exposed, so wrap up well when it’s windy.

Refreshment Stops

St Aubin - Located in the Parish of St Brelade, St Aubin is a harbour village with an abundance of pubs, restaurants and cafés.

St Brelade - One of Jersey's most popular bays with plenty of refreshment stops along the promenade.

La Corbière - Overlooking the magnificent Lighthouse is the headland of La Corbière. There is a restaurant, The Corbière Phare and in the summer months, an ice cream van.

My Space

Arthur Lamy's (Blue Badge Guide) favourite stretch of coastline between St Helier and Grosnez.

‘I would find it easier to choose a flavour of Häagen-Dazs than to pick a section of Jersey’s coast that I love more than any other. But if I had to choose a stretch between St Helier and Grosnez, I would plump for the varying coastline that lies between Corbière and St Aubin’s Village and, given a choice, I would prefer to walk it in that direction.

‘As for the best time of year? Well I’m just as undecided about that too, but in spring it’s harder to ignore what’s going on around you. The start at Corbière offers inspiring views, a promise of things to come, and an invigorating onshore wind to speed us on our way. Over the next few miles we will experience that unique mix of flora, fauna, history and the present day that represents Jersey so well. We will see nesting gulls, statuesque columns of granite, coastal mansions and the occasional freighter on its way to Poole or Weymouth.

‘Once across St Brelade’s Bay, a steep climb leads us through a disused quarry and onto Portelet Common, which belongs to The National Trust for Jersey. The small white building on the cliff edge was the powder magazine that supported a battery of cannon situated on the far side of the mound. It was one of five emplacements that guarded the bay in Napoleonic times.

‘Later it was used by the men working in the quarry below. In more recent times it was even home to a small family for a couple of years. After Noirmont, it is all downhill to St Aubin’s Village, where an abundance of pubs and restaurants awaits!’

The Long and Short of it

The shortest and easiest routes can be combined to create a single, longer route. The path along the sea wall from St Helier to St Aubin is entirely flat and paved. It’s a leisurely stroll of about 3½ miles that can take a little less than an hour. Continuing from St Aubin to Corbière via the old railway track adds a further 3½ miles one way. With only a shallow incline and five road crossings, it’s a most relaxing walk.

St Helier offers some great short walks too. Wander through the Victorian Central Market, then into the Royal Square and Town Church. Guided walks run throughout the year – pick up a copy of ‘What’s On’ for details.

The most challenging walking on this stretch of coast is between La Corbière and Les Landes, taking in the cliff paths south and north of St Ouen’s Bay.

Watching the Wildlife

Portelet Common supports some 125 plant species, at least 30 of which are considered to be highly significant.

The dwarf shrub heath and heath-lichen-grassland areas are particularly rich in plant species. Especially notable are the dwarf rush, sand crocus and early sand grass. Other important species include green-winged orchid, heath pearlwort, all-seed, autumn squill and the Jersey sub-species of spotted rockrose.

The cliffs on the edge of the common provide ideal nesting and roosting sites for sea-birds and waders, especially gulls. Three species breed regularly – greater and lesser black-backed gulls and herring gulls. On the lower cliff faces, shags, oystercatchers and rock pipits can be seen at most times of the year. Ravens will often appear in early summer and kestrels can be seen hunting the steep slopes for small mammals and insects.

Nearby L’Ouaisné Common is the last remaining site of the rare agile frog in Jersey. Please help its conservation by not disturbing its habitat and keeping to pathways.

The coastal heathland of Les Creux Millennium Park is a fragile habitat that sustains at least 55 plant species including spotted rock rose, autumn squill and sand crocus. Large numbers of butterfly and dragonfly species are found here, as well as declining numbers of green lizards. Les Creux’s two main mature wooded areas consist of English oak, holm oak, sweet chestnut and sycamore, with the occasional wild cherry, ash and planted pine and cypress. Field boundaries here are largely overgrown, the dense bramble and bracken providing nesting and forage for birds and small mammals.

Further west near Corbière Lighthouse, the dry coastal heathland of Les Landes du Ouest – a Site of Special Interest – is home to well over 100 plant species, some of which are extremely rare on the British mainland and are at the edge of their northernmost range in Western Europe. Early summer brings ox-eye daisy, thrift, sea campion and the deep yellow flowers of prostrate broom. Rarer plants include autumn squill, yellow-horned poppy and spotted rockrose. Rabbits, mice, shrews and voles thrive on the heathland.

The magnificently wild sandy expanse of St Ouen’s Bay dominates the western coastline. Backing onto the bay is the area known as Les Mielles, which has a number of different habitats for wildlife including dunes and flat, marshy land. The latter, together with thick reed beds, surround St Ouen’s Pond, Jersey’s largest natural expanse of freshwater. It’s a bird reserve and National Trust site – from the hide you might catch sight of waterfowl or hear the constant song of the cetti’s warbler and reed warbler in early summer.

Another National Trust site, Le Noir Pré, is located close to St Ouen’s Pond. Often known simply as ‘The Orchid Field’, it consists of two wet meadows, Le Noir Pré, and the smaller Le Clos du Seigneur. The site is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Jersey or loose-flowered orchid. Three other orchids can also be seen – the southern marsh, common spotted and heath spotted orchids. During May and June, the meadows are a riot of colour, with the stunning deep purple of the Jersey orchids contrasting with the various shades of pink, through to white, of the other species. Other notable wildflowers here include the ragged robin, yellow bartsia, parsley water-dropwort, common knapweed, square-stalked St John’s-wort and tufted vetch.

A wide range of insects can also be seen in the meadows, especially butterflies. Small mammals such as voles, mice and shrews attract predatory birds, including kestrels and barn owls – and the rare marsh harrier too.

Les Blanches Banques, south of Les Mielles, is another Site of Special Interest, with a wealth of floral diversity. At both ends of St Ouen’s Bay rock pools and shallows amongst the rocky outcrops teem with marine wildlife.

North-west of the bay, near Grosnez, the cliffs at Les Landes are home to about a dozen pairs of puffins. They have a short summer breeding season and by August have departed to spend the entire winter far out at sea. The cliff faces here are hunting grounds for many birds of prey. Look out for kestrels, peregrine falcons and swifts. Offshore stacks and islets are home to colonies of gannets, guillemots, cormorants and shags.

En Route

St Helier
The wide-ranging Jersey Museum explains the history, traditions and culture of the island. Part of the museum is an atmospheric Victorian Merchant’s house. The award-winning Maritime Museum on the quayside celebrates Jersey’s association with the sea in an engaging and thoroughly entertaining manner. It also has an Occupation Tapestry gallery, a memorial to life during the World War Two Occupation.

Elizabeth Castle, built on a rocky islet in St Aubin’s Bay, is accessible by foot on a low-tide causeway or by ‘Puddleduck’ ferry. Three exhibitions focus on its important role in Jersey’s history and at 12 noon daily, Gunner Gilman fires the castle cannon.

The Central Market houses 36 market stalls in a splendid Victorian building, and nearby there’s the Beresford Market (or Fish Market as it is more commonly known). Both are justly popular for their high-quality produce and the atmosphere generated by their hard-working stallholders.

Millbrook/Coronation Park
St Matthew’s Church, or the Glass Church, is famed for its stunning glasswork. The church is located on La Grande Route de St Aubin, on the inner road adjacent to the playing fields. It is easily accessible from the sea wall by crossing the dual carriageway and cutting through Coronation Park.

St Aubin
The Harbour Gallery and Studios is one of the island’s leading arts and crafts centres, with galleries, original painting, sculpture, textiles, photography, designer fashion, Jersey Woodturners, working artists’ studios and regular exhibitions. St Aubin, bustling with restaurants, cafés and waterside pubs, is a very popular destination for lunch and dinner.

Noirmont/Portlet Common
The Channel Islands Occupation Society is a dedicated volunteer organisation that ensures that key sites from Jersey’s World War Two Occupation are open to the public through the warmer months. Some are located in this area. For details of all sites and opening times please see their website www.ciosjersey.org.uk.

St Brelade’s Bay
The Fisherman’s Chapel, adjacent to the Parish Church at the western end of the bay, dates from the 12th century and is partly constructed from stones from the beach (look out for the limpet shells on the interior walls – and the medieval wall paintings). It’s one of Jersey’s most picturesque churches.

Corbière Lighthouse
This was the first lighthouse in the British Isles to be built of reinforced concrete. The tower is 62ft/19m high and the lamp 119ft/36m above high water spring tides, enabling it to be seen from the horizon at 18 miles. The lighthouse can be viewed as part of specially arranged guided tours. For details contact Jersey Tourism.

St Ouen’s Bay
La Caumine à Marie Best, or the ‘White Hut’ in the middle of St Ouen’s Bay, was a guardhouse and powder magazine built in the 18th century. Now owned by The National Trust for Jersey, it can be rented for picnics and overnight stays, and houses temporary art exhibitions. Three Jersey defensive towers – La Rocco, Kempt and Lewis – are a feature of this coastline. Kempt Tower now serves as an interpretive centre for the area open to visitors in summer.

Les Landes
Located alongside the racecourse on the north-west tip of the island, ruined Grosnez Castle was once an important island stronghold. It relied for its defence mainly on the precipitous cliffs that almost surround it. Far-reaching views from these cliffs take in the other Channel Islands and the huge swells of the Atlantic Ocean. Grosnez’s origins are obscure but evidence suggests a date around the 14th or 15th century and that its ruinous state is due to age, not warfare. To the south is Le Pinacle, a 200ft-/60m-high rock that was an object of worship for thousands of years.

Top Tip

Find out when the Channel Island Occupation Society ( www.ciosjersey.org.uk ) opens the World War Two fortifications at Portelet Common/Noirmont and at Les Landes. These compelling – not to mention forbidding – sites give a vivid insight into Jersey’s occupied years.

Signposting

Download the following self-guided walks from or collect copies from Jersey Tourism’s Visitor Centre when you arrive:

St Aubin to L’Etacq
St Brelade Parish Walk
St Helier Parish Walk
St Ouen Parish Walk
St Peter Parish Walk
Pub Walk – Breathtaking St Brelade’s
Pub Walk – Phare Far Away

Jersey Tourism sells publications with detailed circular and linear routes of varying lengths. The following guides contain walks between St Helier and Grosnez:

Sites of Special Interest

The Jersey Environment Team has a wealth of information on these wonderfully wild areas.

For details please go to:
http://www.gov.je/Environment/LandMarineWildlife/WildlifeHabitats/Pages/Woodlands.aspx