Grosnez Castle

This partly runied castle lies in the far north-western corner of Jersey. The castle is thought to have been built during the 14th century for Sir John des Roches.

As you can make out in the above photo, the castle is built on top of the rocky cliffs, with the sea on the north side. The main gate entrance is mostly still in tact, whilst the less substantial walls on the north side are mostly gone. Although you can still find the footings of the missing walls.

Thanks to the steep cliffs on the north side, and the strong granite walls on the south side, this castle would not have been so easy to capture. However, because it is built on very solid granite, there would have been no water well. This seems to be a major flaw, in that any attacking force could have simply waited for the castle's water supplies to run dry, before demanding a surrender.

The finer details of this castle's design are not known, due to its age and lack of proper records.

This is a nice spot to visit around sunset, with good views across the water to Guernsey and the other islands.

Further reading and photos:
Grosnez Castle on Wikipedia
Grosnez Castle on Typepad
Photo on The Funky Site

Jersey Live 2008 - The Prodigy & The Zutons

Jersey's Music Festival

So far the bands confirmed for this year's two day long Jersey Live Music Festival are:

The Zutons, headlining on the Saturday.
The Prodigy, headlining on the Sunday.

and...

We are Scientists
The Foals
Goose
The Go Team
Black Kids
Cage The Elephant
Crystal Castle

For the dance tent the confirmed acts are:
Pendulum (DJ Set)
Atomic Hooligan
Scott Nixon
Colin Moore
Spim
Kissy Sel Out (Live)
David Holmes
Black Grass
Oneofakind (from Guernsey)

Jersey Live will be happening on the 30th and 31st days of August 2008.

For further information, and ticket availability please visit the Jersey Live website.

The Prodigy.

Oyster Catchers of La Pulente

I have just been taking a walk across the rocks at La Pulente beach, which is at the far south end of St. Ouen's Bay in Jersey. I spotted quite a few pairs of Oyster Catchers which were feeding in the exposed rock pools.

Here's some of the bird photos I took. Click on the photo for a bigger version.

Seymour Tower

This defensive tower sits on a small rocky outcrop, about 2km offshore. It is located off the east coast of Jersey, and is accessible on low-tides, by foot, from La Rocque harbour.

The ocean tides in this area a particularly dangerous, so you would be well advised to check tide times before venturing out there, and making sure you start walking back to shore before the tide turns.


The base of Seymour Tower has space for a battery of canons. The tower itself is square, unlike most of Jersey's coastal towers which are round.

It was built as part of the island's defences after the French made an invasion landing is this area.

The tower is in the care of the Jersey Heritage Trust, and can be rented out for short stays, and activities. It has been recently fitted-out with basic facilities, such as bunk-beds and a cooker.