En Voyage - Issue #8

En Voyage
Nine nautical miles separate Guernsey and Sark,
but travelling this short distance transports you into
another world. It’s like going back in time in the best
way: with no cars, you can walk or cycle around
the island with only the odd tractor or horse-drawn
carriage to look out for. And at night, you couldn’t
ask for a better place for a spot of stargazing.
The Isle of Sark Shipping Company operates a
passenger ferry service from the Inter Island Quay
in St Peter Port to Sark, with several sailings a day in
peak season and a reduced winter service with daily
boats from Monday to Saturday. Tickets can be bought
online, by telephone or from the White Rock office in
Guernsey, and the journey takes just 55 minutes.
If you’re staying overnight, make sure your luggage is
labelled, hop on the ‘Toast Rack’ transport up to the
Village – or walk up the hill through the woods – and
your bags will be delivered to your accommodation.
There is so much to discover on this small island and
it helps to know a little about its fascinating history,
which dates back to the Stone Age. It’s thought that
the Romans inhabited Sark, possibly for a few
hundred years, and it’s certain that the missionary
St Magloire landed on the island around 560AD; he
is credited with founding a monastery on the site still
known as La Moinerie. Sark’s long association with
the English Crown dates back to 1066 when William
the Conqueror defeated England. The strategic
importance of Sark’s location in the Channel has
meant it has long been the subject of close attention
from the French: following its occupation by a French
naval force in 1549, which was eventually expelled,
the Seigneur of St Ouen from Jersey, Helier de
Carteret, moved to the island to deter further attacks.
In 1565 Elizabeth I granted him the feudal title of
fief; this royal recognition formally established the
constitutional basis which exists in Sark to this day.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO
DISCOVER ON THIS SMALL
ISLAND AND IT HELPS TO
KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT ITS
FASCINATING HISTORY
SARK'S DARK SKIES
SARK VENTURE
SARK PRISON
SEIGNEURIE GARDENS
IMAGES COURTESY OF VISITGUERNSEY
IMAGE COURTESY OF SARK.CO.UK
Sark is alleged to be the smallest independent feudal
state in Europe and to have the last feudal constitution
in the western world, although international Human
Rights legislation has led to major changes to the
island’s inheritance and tax laws. Whilst not strictly
speaking a sovereign state, under a unique status the
Seigneur holds the island for the English monarch.
The beautifully tended Seigneurie Gardens have been
open to the public since the 1850s and displays in
the newly renovated chapel tell the story of Sark’s
Seigneurs through the ages. The Gardens also have a
maze, old cannons – including a bronze cannon sent
to Helier de Carteret from the Tower of London by
Queen Elizabeth – and the original carp ponds of
St Magloire’s monks. There’s even a dovecote, an apple
crusher and a small pet cemetery, commemorating
Dame Sybil Hathaway’s beloved cats and dogs.
HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE
VENUS POOLS
IMAGE COURTESY OF SARK.CO.UK
24 En Voyage | Aurigny’s Magazine