I'm not sure if it was excitement of a new place or some type of woeful jet lag but Ian and I were wide awake at 4am and so got up and walked the decks until it was time to get ready for our day.

In a mini nutshell...
Guernsey is the second largest island in the Channel islands group... and has been the property of England since the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It lies just off the Normandy region of France and was occupied by Germany during the war.

Our first views were beautiful even though it was a grey and overcast day... which later turned to incessant rain.

Although we didn't visit we could see the 13th century Castle Cornet guarding the harbour.

Our day included...
 a little stroll in the harbour city (St Peter Port)





a lovely 90 minute bus tour of the island...and then the German Underground Hospital and Ammunition store. This was incredible.   Let me quote the brochure...

" This is the largest structural reminder of German occupation existing in the Channel islands. This maze of tunnels covers an area of about 75,000 square feet. Almost invisible from the surface (except for the entrances) this vast concrete maze is built under a low hill in the heart of the Guernsey countryside" 




 Designed to accommodate 800 patients.. the hospital could have housed three or four times that number. It was dark... dank....and gloomy... not to mention wet and mouldy... not ideal for recovering in a hospital.


We also visited 'The little chapel' ... possibly the smallest chapel in the world. This beautiful tiny little chapel is completely covered in pebbles and broken china.

 It was undergoing some restoration during our visit with some scaffolding around the outer of the building but we could still enter..albeit one or two at a time and take a peak.

Guernsey was a beautiful stop.... such a pity it was so brief.