Island 527 - Lissroy, Guernsey

Lissroy is sometimes referred to as a peninsula and sometimes as a tidal islet linked to the tidal island of Lihou by a shingle ridge.  Lihou and Lissroy can be reached via a stone causeway from the western coast of Guernsey at  L’Erée at low spring tides. The Lissroy shingle bank is an important bird nesting site for gulls and oystercatchers, so access to it is prohibited from 1st January to 1st August.  Lissroy is part of the Lihou Ramsar (wetlands of international importance) site.  The island is covered in grass, brambles and bracken.

Notice prohibiting access at certain times of the year

Lihou house from Lissroy

Lissroy

L'Eree from Lissroy

Island 526 - Fort Grey/Château de Rocquaine, Guernsey

Fort Grey is a tidal island located 150 metres or so off the west coast of Guernsey at Rocquaine Bay.  It is also known as Château de Rocquaine.  

The island was occupied in prehistoric times - late Bronze Age (c9th century BC) pottery has been dug up on the island.  The area to the east of the fort is believed to have been used for salt production in the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD.

 A small fort was built on the island at an unknown date, but it was certainly there by 1617.  This was demolished in 1803 and replaced by a battery, which was capable of containing 12 to 14 guns, protected by a 3 metre thick semi-circular wall.  In 1804 a Martello tower was constructed and the perimeter wall was extended to completely enclose the tower.  It was part of a chain of defences on Guernsey to protect the island from attack by the French.  It was named after General Charles, Earl Grey of Howick, who was Governor of Guernsey from 1797-1807.  It was built by local man Thomas Henry from Clos du Valle.  The powder magazine was originally constructed on the outside of the fort, but in 1809 a second one was built inside the fort.

In 1891 the War Office sold Fort Grey to the States of Guernsey for £185.  It was used by the Germans 1940-1945 as an anti-aircraft battery.  

Fort Grey has been home to a shipwreck museum run by the States of Guernsey's museum service since 1976. The arched gateway and steps up into the fort were built at this time: previously access was by a ladder.  The museum contains objects recovered from numerous ships wrecked off the coast of Guernsey.

Fort Grey is known as the Cup and Saucer by local people.  The island is now permanently linked to Guernsey by a stone causeway

Fort Grey

Fort Grey

Martello Tower

Cannon from HMS Boreas at Fort Grey

HMS Boreas was wrecked on the Hanois reef in 1807.  The cannon, which bears the arms of King George III was lifted from the sea by divers and transported to Fort Grey by Royal Navy helicopter in 1974.

Model of the Hanois Lighthouse in the Shipwreck Museum

Anchor and causeway to Fort Grey

Island 525 - Little Island 2, Guernsey

The island I am calling Little Island 2 doesn't seem to have a name of its own.  It is located at the southern end of Port Soif on the west coast of Guernsey.  It lies to the west of Little Island and a very short distance from it.  There is a building on the island, but I don't know what its original purpose was.  The island is covered in grass.

Building on Little Island 2

Little Island 2

Little Island 2

Island 524 - Little Island, Guernsey

Little Island is a small, uninhabited tidal island and is located at the southern end of Port Soif on the west coast of Guernsey.  It is separated from Guernsey by a gap of about 50 metres and is covered in grass.  Thrift and autumn squill grow on the island.

Little Island from Port Soif

Looking north from Little Island

Little Island

Port Soif from Little Island

Le Nic au Corbin from Little Island

Island 523 - Noir Hommet, Guernsey

Noir Hommet/Houmet is a very small tidal island located at the southern end of the Baie des Pêqueries on the west coast of Guernsey.  It is separated from Guernsey by about 200 metres of boulders. Grass, rock samphire, autumn squill and thrift grow on the island.

Noir Hommet

Baie des Pêqueries from Noir Hommet

Noir Hommet

Island 522 - Cliff Rock, Guernsey

Cliff Rock is a very small uninhabited tidal island located at the north end of the Baie des Pêqueries off the west coast of Guernsey.  It is separated from the mainland of Guernsey by a gap of about 25 metres, which is covered in small boulders. The island is dominated by a very large rock formation.  The rest of the island is covered with grass.

Rocky outcrop on Cliff Rock

Looking north from Cliff Rock

Looking south from Cliff Rock

Looking west towards Cliff Rock

Island 521 - Houmet Paradis, Guernsey

Houmet Paradis is an uninhabited tidal island located off the north east coast of Guernsey between Miellette Bay and Petils Bay.   Part of the island has been quarried at some point in the past.  It has also been used for gutting fish and grazing cattle.  Houmet Paradis is mainly covered in grass and bracken.

In Victor Hugo's novel The Toilers of the Sea, the hero of the book Gilliatt commits suicide at Houmet Paradis by drowning himself.

The island was previously known as Houmet de L’Eperquerie, but the name was changed when it was bought by the Collas family, as their estate was at Paradis.

In 1951 James Watson from Newcastle-upon-Tyne purchased the island for £500.  In 2004 his grandson sold it to an anonymous group of Guernsey islanders, who wanted it to become a nature reserve managed by the National Trust for Guernsey.  Sea birds nest on the island and visitors are requested not to visit the island, apart from the central path, between 1st March and 31st July each year.

Notice with access restrictions during the bird breeding season

Central path with ruined building

Petils Bay from Houmet Paradis

Separate part of Houmet Paradis

Old quarry on Houmet Paradis

Jethou and Herm from Houmet Paradis

Jethou and Herm from Houmet Paradis

Island 520 - Hommetol/Omptolle, Guernsey

Hommetol/Omptolle/Homptole/Hommeril/Houmet Hommetol is a small uninhabited tidal island located 250 metres off the east coast of Guernsey at Miellette Bay.  It is covered in very springy grass with lots of small holes in it.  Sea campion, sea beet and thrift also grow on the island.  Sea birds breed on the island and therefore access to it is not allowed between 15th March and 15th July. The area around the island is apparently noted for the collection of ormers, which are a member of the abalone family.  I'm not sure how such a small island came to have some many different spellings of its name!

Omptolle from Petit Omptolle

Herm from Hommetol

Beaucette Marina from Hommetol

Sea beet on Hommetol

Notice restricting access to the island during the bird breeding season

Houmet Paradis from Hommetol

Island 519 - La Vieille, Guernsey

La Vieille is a very small uninhabited tidal island located 150 metres off the east coast of Guernsey at Petils Bay.  It has barely enough vegetation to count as an island.  Plants on the island include thrift and rock samphire.  The rocks are covered in golden, grey and green lichens.

Houmet Paradis from La Vieille

Houmet Benest from La Vieille

Petils Bay from La Vieille

Jethou and Herm from La Vieille

Island 518 - Houmet Benest/Houmet Benêt, Guernsey

Houmet Benest/Houmet Benêt is a small uninhabited tidal island located about 100 metres off the north east corner of Bordeaux Harbour on the east coast of Guernsey.  It is covered in grass, bracken, brambles, rock samphire, sea campion, thrift and gorse, but there are no trees.  When I visited in October 2024 I saw 4 wall butterflies, which is more than I have ever seen in one place before.  In the 18th century a gun battery was built on the island and a few remains of this can still be seen. I came across a stone with S4 carved on it.

Sea campion and gorse on Houmet Benest

Houmet Benest

La Vieille from Houmet Benest

Stone with S4 carved on it

Houmet Paradis from Houmet Benest

Hommet from Houmet Benest

Bordeaux Harbour from Houmet Benest