Towards Le Vieux Château

(S) We start in the gravel car park opposite the Seymour Inn, across from the bus stop. Walk towards the sea and descend the steps onto the beach, turn left and head towards the castle. If the beach is impassable, return to the main road, turn right, and walk northwards to the next slipway. (A)

(1) At Le Hurel slipway, continue with care along the roadside for about 25 yards, before descending granite steps to the concrete platform. Turn left and walk to the steps beside Fauvic Tower, climb these and stay on the promenade until the golf course.

(2) There is a distinct path across the dunes, and because the course is on common land we will not be challenged. (B) and (C)

(3) Once past Margaret Terrace, join the promenade. This area was reclaimed from the sea in the 1890s, allowing a road to be built, and the railway line to be extended to the Pier. At the end of the promenade, turn right and walk towards the pier. Look out for the penultimate house, Number 14, this was in fact a bunker. The stepped ground floor window, which now displays a collection of model cars, once held a machine gun, and there was a Pak 3.7 anti-tank gun on the first floor.

(4) At the end of the row of houses turn left, and climb the granite steps onto the Water Battery, then continue up the next flight to emerge in the Lower Ward of Mont Orgueil Castle. Go up the next set of steps and through the doorway, the admissions office is immediately opposite.(E)

Where Mont Orgueil Castle stands has been a defensive site for over 2,000 years and the castle is a treasure trove of island history. The bay in its shadow is also important, as it is a perfect place to land invading troops, and consequently the shoreline is rich in defensive positions.

For information on visiting the heritage attraction mentioned in this guide, including admission prices and opening times, please visit the Jersey Heritage website.

Mont Orgueil Castle
History comes to life at Mont Orgueil Castle, which for over 600 years protected Jersey against French invasion. Explore the network of staircases, towers and secret rooms to discover hidden treasures. Mont Orgueil Castle is an exciting place to visit. Every time you visit you’ll discover a staircase you’ve not seen before opening up into a room where you’ll find something new. Discover Hidden artwork commissioned to tell the story of the castle; Climb the turrets to find the medieval ‘wheel of urine’, and descend into the cellar to experience the ‘witchcraft’ exhibit. Life-size wooden soldiers guard the castle from attack and ‘the wounded man’ statue shows the fate that could befall those fighting to save the castle from invasion.

(A) This bay has a perfectly aligned ‘523 paces apart’, series of Jersey Round Towers. Once there were eight positions here, including Fort Henry and Prince William’s Redoubt. The final tower, Grouville Number 8, is believed to have been demolished to make way for the railway.
These towers were built by General Henry Seymour Conway, Governor of Jersey between 1772 and 1795. Like the German defenses that we will see later, they are simply there to slow down an attacking force.
Conway’s plan was to build thirty towers, twenty-three were finished and seventeen are still standing. Unlike the Martello Towers that were built in Jersey between 1808 and 1837, which the English adopted after a naval engagement at Mortella Point in Corsica, these towers relied on musket fire rather than a large cannon on the roof.

(B) This common land was once home to horse racing, a rifle range and a golf club! The early golfers faced two unusual hazards, sheep and cattle still grazed freely, and huge piles of seaweed, drying in preparation for use as fertilizer.

(C) The two coastal casemates housed 10.5cm K 331 artillery pieces, and together with a much modified Fort Henry, made up Resistance Nest Fort Henry. The fort’s tower held a searchlight which ran on rails between the two ‘balconies’. These were added during the Second World War, but are so well disguised they look original.
After Prince William’s Redoubt, now a private house, stay beside the beach for a few more yards and join the pavement next to the water tower of the Jersey Eastern Railway. The railway ran from August 1873 until June 1929; one could buy a ticket from Snow Hill in Jersey to Paris, using a steamboat to go between Gorey and Carteret in Normandy.