It was a lovely weekend last week in Guernsey and the tides where perfect for a walk across to Lihou. Lihou is an island situated just off the west coast of Guernsey and only accessible at low tide for roughly two weeks in every month. It is a rural retreat away from the strains of everyday life. What is fascinating about Lihou is the interesting wildlife, both above the water and below as you walk across the causeway.
So sandwiches packed and tides checked I headed out. It was a bank holiday weekend and it quickly became apparent that I was not the only one taking advantage of the lovely weather coinciding with the low tides. Trekking across the purpose built causeway was a unique opportunity to explore and analyse the intriguing seabed -it was full of life, which is testament to the conservation around the area.
Once on Lihou I took the path to the left of the house, a couple of minutes down the path I arrived at the famous Venus Pool – a large rock pool big and deep enough to go for a swim in. I’m not really the swimming type and had thankfully forgotten my bathers but it was interesting nonetheless.
There is just one solitary building on the island, a house that is available to book out. This makes for a refreshing change from building after building occupying pieces of land. I continued my trek past the Venus Pool, sticking to the shoreline as this is where you find the bulk of the wildlife. I decided to leave the path and go exploring the shoreline, mooching in rock pools reminded me of childhood.
It got to lunchtime and it was time to sit on the shore and crack open my picnic, the sun was shining, reflecting majestically off the water. It was like being in paradise!
Following the island all the way round in a clockwise direction I arrived back at the causeway. Time was running out for me to make my way back across so started back along the causeway.
Overall it was a fantastic walk, I would recommend it to anyone wanting to go on an interesting walking holiday. Tied in with a trip to some of the other islands in the Bailiwick it would make for a great getaway.
