May 13 - Enjoying the Botanic Gardens at Samares Manor, then a seaside walk to St Aubin

He said:
A sunny Monday today, and the weather will stay nice for s few days, this is something to celebrate in the UK.  Our visit to the Botanic Gardens gave us each a different experience, mine was a photo journey around the gardens, hers was inside history.

She said:
We are enjoying fine weather here on Jersey. Today was another bright day with plenty of sun. The temps are perfect for walking - low 60s.

Before we left St. Helier today, we visited the Botanical Gardens and Samares Manor House. Rick explored the extensive gardens (all beautifully landscaped) with his camera while I took the tour of the Manor House.

• A house continuously there since Norman times. The cellar still has Norman supports and a crypt.
• Whoever owns the property becomes the Seigneur d’Samares, so if you are wealthy enough to buy it, you become quite a boss.
• In medieval times, the estate had its own court and gallows. The court could act independently from the main town court.
• If you were connected to the estate in any way (servant, farmer, any kind of worker) and you were convicted of a crime outside the estate, you had the option of being hung from the estate gallows rather than the town gallows. Most opted for this as the estate gallows were private and the town gallows were a raucous spectacle.
• In the 1920’s, the owner’s wife died and he remarried. He was 76 and his new bride was 26. He gave his new wife a jade green Rolls Royce as a wedding gift, jade green being her favorite color. He died 2 years later and she became a very Merry Widow, traveling the world and redecorating the manor.
• Too many lineage portraits to remember.
• The current Seigneur (son of the cradle-robbing father) lives in the Manor with his family and is the host whenever a Royal visits Jersey.

Outside the Manor House are the biggest, most beautiful rhododendron bushes I have ever seen. Easily 15’ tall. Pale pink and deep, deep ruby.

We took the bus to the main station in St. Helier, got off, and walked along the bay to St. Aubin's. We stopped on the path and ate a picnic lunch in one of the many wooden cabanas that line the walk. They are much like 3-sided cabins with windows all around and benches pointing at the sea.
Quite pleasant!

St. Aubin's is much smaller than St. Helier, which suits us fine. It is a true seaside resort, without any commercial businesses mucking up the quaintness.
Some shops and restaurants and, lucky for us, a small Morrison’s Grocer where we bought our supper supplies.
A short walk to our excellent hotel for the next 3 nights - La Haule Manor. Spacious room and a sea view - what more could we ask for?

Total Mileage:
5.4 Miles


Botanic Gardens

Along the seaside path to St Aubin's

In La Haule