Wednesday 1st April 2015   13/52   St. Peter Port to Icart Point

Today the wonderful Intrepid Eric will have completed a quarter of the walks he has challenged himself to do this year. Here he is leaving the house at 09.15 this morning to catch the bus into Town.

He had been gone about half an hour when it started to rain, but fortunately it was only a light shower, and it is now sunny, but windy – not Eric’s favourite thing to walk in!

Sadly we have not yet managed to do any of the step clearing that we have pledged to do  – either I am working when Eric is free, or he is playing tennis or walking when I am free, plus I have been ill and have been away rather a lot – unforeseen events when we pledged to do this. IT SHALL be done, however, just not easy to say when at the moment!

For today, this is where he will begin – having looked out at this:

(Photos not behaving themselves as I would like, but I hope you get the picture)

Eric:

This morning I caught the No 11 bus from St Martin’s to the St Peter Port bus terminus at 0915, and to my surprise I was the only person on the bus all the way there! I must say it is the biggest taxi I have ever ridden in, and being an OAP I did not even have to pay for the privilege!

Walking towards the Aquarium I was covered in sunshine and was quite optimistic that we would have good walking conditions for the walk to Icart this morning. Whilst waiting at the Aquarium however some ominous low dark clouds came over and there were drops of rain, but fortunately it blew over quite quickly and back came the sunshine.

My trusted walking colleague Clive S turned up for the walk and with no other takers we set off towards Fermain Bay. There are still quite a number of very muddy patches in certain areas on the cliff path, but it had certainly improved since the last time we walked this leg. On approaching Bluebell Wood I thought we might see some early flowers but it wasn’t to be; I’m sure though that we will have the usual magnificent show when they all eventually burst through.

Fermain Bay was quite stunning when we arrived and it really is a must see for any visitor wishing to see the natural beauty of Guernsey. It was lovely to see families out on the cliff paths due to school holidays – what better way of getting some fresh air and exercise for all members of the family? The sun continued to shine as we headed towards Bec du Nez and Marble Bay and then on through the Pine Forest to St Martin’s Point. The steps at Jerbourg are always a total lung buster and reaching the top is a real challenge for all walkers. I was quite disappointed that there was not a better turnout of locals and holidaymakers at Jerbourg Point and the poor lady in the kiosk was somewhat redundant despite the good weather.

Onwards to Petit Port we headed, and took the opportunity to look over the steep granite rocks above the clean sandy beach at the bottom of the bay. The contractors are busily securing the metal netting to the granite rock in order to provide safety cover for the eventual re-opening of the path down to the Bay.

Moulin Huet still remains one of my favourite spots and it was just fantastic to take in the spectacular sea views that I must admit I have done many, many times, but never ever tire of. It was also just lovely to see the spring flowers out in secluded areas in and around Moulin Huet, giving a great feeling that Spring is here to stay. We met more people out and about on the cliff paths, all very much appreciating the sunny weather and the stunning sea views.

We were very much on the final stretch as we arrived in the Saints Bay area and climbed the cliff path out of the Bay and on towards our final destination at Icart Point. It was good to see that some of the viewing point seats have been given a spruce up as they are such a bonus to walkers who either just want a breather or to soak up the variety of views that are available. It never fails to amaze me as we head away from the Saints Bay area and turn the corner towards Icart how quickly the wind gets up as we turn the corner.

We arrived at Icart having taken 2hours 40 minutes to complete the leg this morning, although both of us had still not finished walking as we both headed home to our respective homes in St Martin’s and the Forest.

It was a very enjoyable walk in great walking conditions today.