Guernsey is a British crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. It is divided into 10 Parishes. Rising sea levels transformed Guernsey into the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the emergent English Channel until about 6000 BC, when Guernsey and other promontories were cut off from continental Europe, becoming islands. Guernsey’s living history book begins with Neolithic Man and the oldest manmade structure in Europe. The island formed part of Normandy from 933, forging a link between Britain and France that survives in Norman Law, surnames and Guernesaise, the local language. Guernsey sided with England in 1204. Castle Cornet was built to repel a French invasion and today houses some of the island’s best museums. The 20th century also left its mark, when the islands became bulwarks in Europe’s WWII Atlantic Wall.
Transportation in Guernsey
By Car: Due to the size of the island, all areas are within easy reach.
By Bus: Guernsey bus and Island Coachways operate buses and coaches around the island.
By Ferry: Guernsey ferries dock at St Peter Port. The port combines the most sheltered anchorage in the Channel Islands with deep water and massive spring tides. It has been rated one of the top fifty most historic towns in the UK. It is helped by having some lovely markets and churches. Like the other Channel Islands, Guernsey is far closer to Normandy - France, than it is to England. There are 5 ferry routes to and from Guernsey to Jersey, Southern England and Northern France
By Air: Guernsey is well served by flights to and from London, Manchester, Plymouth and East Midlands airport. Summer weekend services also connect other major UK cities.
Guernesy is of great archaeological interest due to the dolmens and menhirs that dot the island, the largest of these being La Varde Dolmen. Situated on the crest of the hill on the west side of L'Ancresse common, between Grande Havre and L'Ancresse Bay, and north of Mont Cuet Road. For Grey was originally detached from the shore, the rocky islet on which the present fort stands was the site of the much older Chateau de Rocquaine. The concentric stone battery with positions for six 24 - pounder iron guns of the Napoleonic period, surmounted by the squat Martello tower of 1804 now housing the Shipwreck Museum. Hauteville House,located at 38 Hauteville, was bought by Victor Hugo in May 1856, thanks to the success of "Les Contemplations". Victor Hugo actively took part in fitting it out and decorating it, to such a point that his son was able to write that it was "a veritable autograph on three floors....... like a poem in several rooms". Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery was purpose-built in 1977 to house the collections previously on show in the Lukis and Island Museum. It is designed to compliment the octagonal Victorian bandstand and in 1979 the museum was chosen as the British "Museum of the Year". In 1993 the museum was extended and refurbished.
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