Herm is one of a chain of islands surrounding Guernsey, and among the inhabited islands open to the public, it is the smallest. It takes about 20 minutes to get there by ferry, and if you’re looking for a half-day trip into breathtaking nature, this island is more than worth the visit.
The History of Herm
The first people arrived on the island about 10,000 years ago, and you can still find some of their ancient graves on Herm today. During the 8th century, a monastery was established on the island by the followers of Saint Tigual, which formed the basis for the church and the surrounding buildings that still stand there today, dating back to the 11th century.
In 933, the island became part of the Duchy of Normandy, but in 1204 it passed into the control of the English Crown, when Normandy became part of the holdings of the king of France. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Herm stopped functioning as a monastery and became a place of leisure and hunting for the local nobility. This continued through World War II, when the island was occupied by the Germans, who saw it mainly as a source of food and entertainment for the occupying troops rather than as a military outpost. In 1949, four years after the island’s liberation, it was bought from the British Crown by Guernsey, and since then it has been leased out to various private individuals who live there. Since 2008, the island has been managed by the Starboard Foundation, and under its rules, cars are completely banned on the island in order to preserve its unique character (the only motorized vehicle allowed is a tractor, used to deliver supplies to residents and to work the fields). This is especially important for travelers with disabilities, since the island’s accessibility, with its many ups and downs, is close to nonexistent, so it’s worth keeping that in mind when planning your visit.
My Visit to Herm
I arrived on Herm on a very cold February morning. The ferry ride was short and pleasant, and within about twenty minutes we reached the harbor. I was greeted by a blue house (one of the island’s only hotels) and next to it a row of other buildings, one of which is the Mermaid, the island’s only pub, and right beside it an even more important structure: the island’s one and only public restroom.
Once I had absorbed this crucial piece of information, it was time to start my walk. Since the island is small, it’s hard to get lost, and the best approach is simply to follow a loop between the various beaches. The walk starts with a climb up a hill, at the top of which stands the Chapel of St. Tugual, named after the saint who founded the local community. This tiny chapel dates from the 11th century, and the monastery that once surrounded it has been turned into a sort of romantic apartment hotel, a great spot for couples who want to get away from the noise, bustle and nonstop action of Guernsey (such as it is).
From there, if you keep going, you’ll reach a fork where you can head right or left. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter, since the route is a loop and you end up in the same place either way. I chose to turn left and started heading downhill. Little by little, the landscape grew wilder and wilder until I reached one of the island’s small coves. The view from there was stunning, and I imagine that in the summer this spot turns into a magical swimming beach.
I climbed back up to the cliff and began walking along it. And again, wherever you look, you’ll see trails cutting through wild vegetation, rocks, seagulls, a magical blue-green sea, and waves crashing in white foam against the rocks. Since I had come, as I mentioned, in February, the winds were quite strong, but that only added to the romance and the feeling of walking through the wildest of nature alongside the raw elements. After about an hour of walking, more or less, the scenery changed again and became more agricultural. Suddenly, out of nowhere, stone walls and fences appeared around fields, where cows or horses probably graze in the summer, and little by little the small cottages returned, flowers and all.
On the way back, I noticed some structures called “bug hotels,” and when I asked what they meant, I learned that the islanders take great pride in Herm’s biodiversity. So they work to protect it, in part by building these small “hotels,” stocked with everything an insect could need to live and eat comfortably. There’s no doubt this is a little paradise, where even the cockroaches live in five-star accommodations.
And so, eventually, I made my way back to the island’s harbor. Since I had more than an hour to kill, and all that fresh air had made me hungry, I ducked into the island’s pub. I found a charming, authentic spot that looked exactly like a sailors’ pub should look. Hunger, or maybe a fit of mischief, made me skip the famous Fish and Chips and go for the Haggis instead, a traditional Scottish dish made from various cuts of beef offal, minced and cooked together. I don’t know if it was the hunger or the chef’s skill, but I personally really enjoyed this dish, whose only healthy element was the green peas resting modestly off to the side (although, as the heroine of the film Tatie Danielle once said, “you have to die of something”).
At the pub, I met a group of Morris dancers, a style of dance that originated in southern France and made its way to England in the Middle Ages, remaining popular to this day. When they heard I was a traveler from abroad, they kindly agreed to show me one of their dances.
Once these delightful people finished dancing, we all had to head over to the island’s second harbor to catch our ferry back to Guernsey. The reason you don’t always leave from the same harbor you arrived at is the area’s extreme tidal range, which means that by the afternoon, the island’s main harbor is almost completely drained of water. A few minutes after we got to the harbor, the ferry arrived and took us back to Guernsey’s capital, St. Peter Port. I came back content, well fed, and happy. There’s no doubt that Herm is a small, wild paradise, and I will definitely be back in the spring or summer, when the weather is warmer and more pleasant.
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