In a bizarre article, putting Jersey up against Guernsey while using an image of Alderney’s Braye Beach (pictured) in its headline, the Telegraph newspaper has tried to decide which is the best out of the bigger Channel Islands.
The result it came up with was wrong, when it claimed Jersey as the winner – but it was a very close vote.
Rating Jersey as 21/25, travel writer Sarah Baxter raved about its beaches and landscape, and activity and adventure options. Jersey’s culture and history and ‘luxury’ options also ranked highly, while it lost points when it came to ‘island hopping’.
Guernsey scored 5/5 when it came to ‘island hopping’ with Herm, Sark, Alderney, and Lihou all within easy reach.
Guernsey dropped a point when it came to its beaches and landscape, culture and history, and activity and adventure, and only scored 3/5 when it came to the ‘luxury’ category.
Described as “charmingly old-school” and “big on charm”, the “triangular wedge…can’t compete with Jersey in terms of attractions, for many that is the attraction” wrote Ms Baxter, who added that “it’s quiet, relaxed and harks back to a different time; imagine an island designed by Enid Blyton, with a French twist”.
Her overall verdict was that “Jersey just about has the edge – just”.
Giving Jersey 21/25 to Guernsey’s 20/25, she claimed that “being that bit bigger, (Jersey) offers greater variety and there’s a little more to do.
“Of course, if doing very little is your thing, Guernsey is the ideal escape – there’s a real sense of fleeing the rat race there. However, as the fast ferry between the islands only takes around an hour, the best option is, of course, to combine the two.”
Having attracted 112 comments on its website, and nearly 100 on Facebook, the inter-island rivalry continued.
John Hargreaves summed it up best writing “Guernsey every time”, while Paul Acheson wrote that “without a doubt Guernsey” is the best. It “has an island community feel, stunning beaches, great restaurants and an increasing number of good hotels and tourist accommodation and best of all the residents are really friendly and proud”.
Andrew Park believes that “Guernsey is just that bit too small. Certainly, as a place to live and even as a place to visit and shop”.
Clearly preferring the smaller islands, Saige Meraki wrote that “Jersey is beautiful. It’s so idyllic and (I) would just love to live there”. They saved themselves however, by adding, “Sark is a true gem and worth a visit for a few days for total relaxation”.
Many people pointed out errors within the Telegraph’s article, including the use of an Alderney image (Braye Beach pictured top) in the headline, and a wholly incorrect picture caption that claimed La Coupée connects Little Sark to Guernsey. That lack of basic Sark knowledge might irk the newspaper’s former owners – the Barclay family…
We think the final comment should go to Andre Quevatre though.
He pointed out that “Bergerac takes his holidays in Guernsey”.
