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Jersey Walks - Extract from The Channel Islands Way

Greve de Lecq

Walk along the pavement, then climb some steps into the car park on the left. Cross to the car park exit, and descend the hill for a few yards to reach the tarmac lane that runs next to the granite wall of the Prince of Wales Hotel. There is a sign post: Cliff path to Plemont. Climb this steep lane which, in due course, becomes a gravel path that offers a great panorama of the beach below and the Napoleonic fort tucked into the hill side across the bay. As it levels out, the path widens into a farm track which then becomes a tarmac lane. Take the next right which is signposted Cliff Path.

The lane falls away gently, and bends between two houses. Just after the one on the right, Lecq Farm, the tarmac gives way to gravel again and we proceed on as the track rises. Where the track bends, we turn left to go down a narrow path that descends into a wooded valley.

A stream accompanies us as we head downhill. After crossing the stream, we make our way up the other side of the valley. At the top the path climbs a little more, dips and veers off to the right. Walk 100 yards or so and look out to sea, the large reef exposed at low tide is the Paternosters and the island behind it, Sark.

1. The Paternosters

In 1565, Queen Elizabeth I granted the seigneur of St Ouen, Helier de Carteret, the right to colonise Sark. Until then the island had been uninhabited and, because of this, it had often been used as a base by pirates. De Carteret chose 35 Jersey families and five Guernsey families to become the first settlers.

The boats carrying the young families left Greve de Lecq bound for Sark, visible a few miles away in the distance. On the way there, one of the boats struck Les Pierres des Lecq reef and many were drowned, among them several small children. Legend has it that their frightened cries can still be heard whenever a storm approaches.

This tale so affected the local fishermen that they always said The Lord's Prayer or the Our Father when they sailed past these rocks. Our Father in Latin is Pater Noster, and this is how the reef got its name.

The path rises and a set of steps leads down into another valley. A third valley appears, this one wider and shallower than the previous two. Once clear of this, a good stretch of level terrain rewards our previous efforts.

Soon we see the disused buildings of Plemont holiday camp on the left and the headland of La Piece Michel, running out to sea, beneath us on the right. As we near La Piece Michel, climb the steps and proceed over a very rough track that goes between the gorse bushes, widening as it approaches the holiday camp.

Proceed along the tarmac lane, passing two groups of three short, steel posts in the verge on the right. Pass a green holding tank on the left and continue on until we arrive at a gravel car park on the right that has a mound in the middle of it. Cross the car park to a gap in the bank, behind the mound, where a plaque says: To Plemont Beach. Walk straight down this path.

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