Herm - Page 3 of 4 - Smoke Tree Manor

In 2013, negotiations for a 21-year extension to the lease broke down, with the tenant offering £440,000 and the owner requesting £6,000,000 plus improvements to infrastructure.

Geography and geology[edit]

Herm is only 1+1⁄2 miles long (north-south) and less than half a mile wide (east-west). In the northern part of the island are two hills, Le Petit Monceau and Le Grand Monceau. To the north of these is a common, leading to Mouisonniere Beach on the northern coast, with Oyster Point in the northwestern corner and La Pointe du Gentilhomme or Alderney Point at the northeastern corner. To the east of the common is Shell Beach and to the west is The Bear’s Beach, leading down to the harbor. Half of the coastline of the northern part of the island is surrounded by sandy beaches; the southern half is rocky. Much of Herm’s bedrock is granite. In 2008, Adrian Heyworth, who was at the time the island’s tenant, said that two or three meters of sand were being lost annually at Alderney Point.

Herm 4 — Shell Beach, northeastern coast

Off the northwestern coast of Herm is the islet of Le Plat Houmet, and beyond that Fondu, which like Herm belongs to Guernsey. In Belvoir Bay on the eastern side of the island are the islets of Mouliere, situated off Frenchman’s Point which is to the northeast of the manor village, and Caquorobert, the latter of which can be accessed at low tide via a vaguely marked path. To the south of this off the southeastern coast is Puffin Bay, which contains the islet of Putrainez near the coast and the islet of Selle Rocque further out to the south. The far southwestern point of the island is Point Sauzebourge, and Bishop’s Cove is just to the north of this. North of the cove and south along the beach from the harbor and White House are the Rosiere Steps, with a quarry and cottage of the same name in the vicinity. The Mouette and Percee reefs are offshore here. Hermetier, also known as Rat’s Island, lies about 250 m (820 ft) off the western coast between Fisherman’s Beach and The Bear’s Beach, to the north of the harbor, linked by a low causeway from the beach. The islet can be accessed at low tide from the beach around Fisherman’s Cottage.

Herm 5 — Caquorobert, east coast of Herm

The isle of Jethou is around three-quarters of a mile to the southwest beyond Point Sauzebourge. It is possible that in AD 709 a storm washed away the strip of land that connected Jethou to Herm. About 215 m (705 ft) off the northern coast of Jethou is the islet of Crevichon, which measures about 212 by 168 m (696 by 551 ft), with an area of less than three hectares. To the west, between Herm and Guernsey, lies the channel Little Roussel (Petit Ruau); between Herm and Sark, to the east, lies the Big Roussel (Grand Ruau). Bréhon Tower, a Victorian-era fortification, is in the Little Roussel between Herm and Saint Peter Port. The tower was created between 1854 and 1856 by Thomas Charles de Putron (1806–1869) using granite from Herm.

Economy:

Tourism is Herm’s main source of income. During a busy summer season, up to 100,000 tourists visit the island, arriving by one of the Travel Trident catamaran ferries operated by the Trident Charter Company.

Pages: 1 2 3 4