TRIP TO SARK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 241, 12 October 1942, Page 2

TRIP TO SARK

IN CHANNEL ISLANDS

FAMOUS BEAUTY SPOT

(By JAMES OGDEN)

It was a fine but dull day when our party visited Sark, scene of a reported British Commando raid. We went to the Channel Islands from St. Peter's Port, Guernsey, by the little steamer Albert Edward, one ot many reminders of the visit of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort to these picturesque islands. Sark is about eight miles distant from Guernsey, and, consequently, an hour after leaving St. Peters Port, we were steaming round tne island to its sole port, Creux Harbour. We went round by the northern coast, passing Point Robert, where a lighthouse stands about half-way up the steeply rising clins. There was a heavy fog hanging over Sark at the time, and intermittently the sound of the foghorn boomed forth from the lighthouse, impressing one with the dangers of rocks and swirling currents for which, indeed, the island is notorious. We could still hear the foghorn as we steamed into Creux Harbour, surely one of the smallest as well as one of the most, charming pf harbours in the British Isles. It is a basin of green water protected on the seaward side by breakwateis, and, for the rest, hemmed in by towering cliffs rugged an<i Dare at. the base, but covered with fern and other shrubs at the top. To get out of this romantic haven one .must pass through a tunnel which pierces the cliff at the head of the and leads to the main road of tne island.

Beauty Within Small Space The island of Sark is only two miles lone by a mile wide, yet within that small compass are contained all the beauty and grandeur which fired the poetic imagination of Swinburne. Like Greece, it . remarkable length of coastline relation to its superficial area. This coastline runs in and , ou^ inlets everywhere and presenting panoramas of almost indescribab fog, alas, did not give us the range of vision we would otherwise have had, but in the intervals it lifted we did get glimpses which conveyed an excellent " " h the coistal scenery which is sucn a of the island. As we wandered single file along the tracks of the int £"or, passing under leafy trees, or by blacKDerry bushes laden with fruit, large, ripe and tempting, England seemed a fong way off and the whirligig of life a senseless thing to embroil oneself in. Here one could liv<e at neace with the world and never tire of wandering through the lanes and exploring the bays and inlets. We had lunch at one of the tea rooms to be found in different parts of the island, and then set out to Little Sark, a peninsula Jomed to the mainland by a narrow neck Know" as the Coupee. The approach to th s T-pmarkable portion of the lsianu is> by a road which runs for some tance between rocky banks. Then suddenly one comes upon the Coupee.

High Above the Water In the course of our wanderings in the interior of the island we *?a given little thought as to- how high we were above sea level. .Im g our surprise when, on coming U P° the Coupee, we found ourselves on a strip of roadway with an lr on railing on either side and a djopof than 250 ft to the water s edge. On our left-hand side the drop was sheer but on our right the cliff sloped sufficiently to enable a descent to be made, although we did not make one on this occasion. The fog was at this particular moment at its foggiest, and came sweeping up the cliffs like steam rising from an immense cauldron. Through it we could see dimly the water lapping the edge of the cliff on either side of the island. It was an awesome sight made all the more so with the reflection that those waters far below, though peaceful now, had their furious moments when they beat against the Coupee, wearing it away until in time's course, no doubt. Little Sark will become an island in jt own right. Passing over the Coupee on to the Little Sark we came upon cliff scenery which is declared to be as fine as any on the island. In this locality is the famous Bath of Venus, a pool of water left so clear by the receding tides that one can see the stones lying at the bottom twenty feet down. The descent to the bath, although gradual, is not an easy feat, but the sight of the green pool amid the rugged splendours of the shore fully repaid us. One of our party obliged by diving in, and we could see him quite clearly as he sank deeper into the water.

Sark's Only Village

Retracing our steps and crossing the Coupee to the mainland we proceeded slowly along the island paths until we arrived at La Ville, the only village on the island. It is made up of a number of cottages and boarding houses lining the main road, a church, a couple of schools and some stores. Here is to be seen the famous Sark goal which, generally speaking, is guiltless of warders or prisoners. It is a plain stone building containing two cells.

From La Ville we took a beautiful walk leading us back to Creux Harbour, which, however, was now only a harbour in name. In our absence the water had departed, and now lingered round the breakwater only Our steamer and another which also plied between Sark and Guernsey were lymg outside. We were conveyed on board by watermen, and, tor this transport, were mulcted in the sum of 6d each. On the return journey to Guernsey the steamer took; a southerly course, thus by the time we were headed for St. Peter's Port, we had encircled the island— and so farewell to Sark.