What a day! We have now moved into a different world and time..... The Isle of Sark.
A ferry filled with German tourists brought us from St Peter Port to Sark, and we were surprised how many people were on the boat. I think many were making a day trip from the giant cruise ship that had anchored last night. Some of us walked up to the village on a footpath from the harbor, but most took the tractor pulled trolleys packed with people.
Sark has no cars or motorcycles at all, but there are tractors which do the heavy lifting, these are all specially licensed to drive on the roads. And, the roads are all packed dirt surfaced, no paving except down at the harbor.
So, people either walk, ride a bicycle, or use horse drawn carts which are mostly for tourists. Most people walk, and it is great, we walked to our hotel, and then went out on a walk to see some of the sights to the northwest of the island. The weather started off cool, but became glorious in the afternoon. This is a peaceful place.
She said:
Today we said goodbye to Guernsey and hello to Sark.
The ferry over was mobbed with day-tripping cruise ship people, but since they only stay for the day, and don’t venture far from the village, we had the quiet lanes and paths to ourselves.
There are no cars on Sark. The only motorized vehicles allowed are tractors. (Though we did see one old guy on a motorized wheelchair going around the island to the left, apparently, as his left blinker was on constantly.)
This is the countryside at its finest. No traffic. Everyone walks or rides bikes. A couple of shops. A Post Office/Hardware Store. Two hotels. A bunch of B+Bs.
The most noise is made by birdsong.
We settled into our room at The Stocks Hotel (Stocks was the original owners name; not Stocks as in punishment), then checked out the hotel grounds.
Pretty nice. Beautiful landscaping and lots of flowers. A pool, if we get brave. A stables where Willow and Ronaldo live (they pull carts for island tours), and just relaxing scenery, in general.
As on Jersey and Guernsey, Sark has a Seigneur and Dame. They live in the biggest house (the La Seigneurie) and own almost everything. It is a crazy feudal system, that is mostly now for show, though tiny Sark - 3.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, population 600 - has its own government, laws, courts and money.
La Seigneurie is sometimes open for tours, but usually not until the high season.
But, their beautiful gardens were open so we popped in there and roamed around for an hour or so.
We walked some country lanes and took a path out to a spectacular lookout, up and down the coast. Danger signs as the path ended at a sheer drop. No railings. Yikes.
Back to the hotel and relaxing in our room. Peaceful as can be.
Total Mileage:
6.6 miles
And, again, the bigger picture:
47 equivalent floors climbed
Ships from the 16th and 21st century anchored at St Peter Port
Our ferry arrives to pick us up
Sark Harbor
There are no street lights on Sark
The lane to our hotel
The room - watch your head
The shopping district
A very old Jail
An old telephone box
The church
La Seigneurie Gardens
Hiking to the west coast
The window in the rock
Rue De La Seigneurie (a main North-South road)
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