Jersey’s bathing pool may have claimed several accolades in recent years, but now appears to have been upstaged by its Guernsey equivalent – which recently received a shoutout on one of the UK’s biggest podcasts.
Speaking during a Christmas special episode of The Rest is Politics, former Downing Street director of communications and strategy Alastair Campbell cited the La Vallette bathing pools as his “best new place visited”.
Mr Campbell, who co-hosts the podcast with former UK cabinet minister Rory Stewart, said that he judged “a lot of things by whether you can have a really good cold water swim”.
“The bathing pools on Guernsey, it’s like they have this Australian model of where a pool is built into the sea,” he continued.
Presumably referencing the Hot Haus business at La Vallette, Mr Campbell also said that he was “a really big fan” of a sauna at the site.
“One, because it was bloody cold, and secondly, because we just had these amazing views” he added.
“The pool itself was absolutely beautiful and, I’ve been to Jersey a few times, but I don’t think I’d ever been to Guernsey before.”
It is not the first time the bathing pools at La Vallette have drawn praise, with a Guernsey architecture firm last year shortlisted for a regional award for its work redesigning the surrounding area.
But the site fell short against Jersey earlier this year in a new ‘Lido League’ created by the AA, where the Lido at Havre des Pas claimed the 18th spot on the list, while La Vallette was ranked 29th.