This is a circular walk around the lovely parish of Grouville, from where so much of Jersey’s home-

grown food is produced. It calls in on two farm shops on the way, with refreshments available at the Jersey Pottery at the half-way point. The route is predominantly on lanes, but it also crosses the Royal Jersey golf course and takes in the path around Queen’s Valley reservoir.

Start from La Rocque HarbourLook out to sea from the harbour wall, where the 18th century Seymour Tower dominates the horizon. It was here that the French last attacked on 6th January 1781, landing by the tower, coming ashore across the rocks and marching into St Helier, where they were defeated at the Battle of Jersey. This was to be the last battle on British soil!

OystersTo the north of the tower, and visible at low tide, oysters are being farmed. Held in netted sacks on rows of metal benches, they take two to three years to reach maturity. These are the Pacific oyster “Crassostrea gigas”; they are grown from imported spat (tiny seed) and sold locally in the Fish Market and in most restaurants and exported to France, the UK and many other European countries.

NB It is possible to walk to the oyster beds, preferably with a guide, but not after low water. The tide comes in at an alarming pace and fills the gutters between the ridges of higher ground. It is very dangerous so please check the tide times.

The History of the Oyster in JerseyJersey’s huge tides, rising and falling up to 12 metres (40 feet), bring fresh gulf stream water in from the Atlantic twice a day, to mix with the cooler waters of the North Sea, providing a nutrient-rich breeding ground for such varieties of shellfish as scallops, praires, clams, cockles and whelks which live on the seabed, while other species like rock oysters, mussels, limpets, winkles and ormers, attach themselves to rocks.

Evidence from burial sites shows that oysters have been eaten in Jersey for over 6000 years. The Roman engineer Sergius Orata in 1st century BC devised ways of cultivating oysters by creating channels in the sand to make them easier to harvest (it was said he could breed oysters on the roof of his house!), but the main method of harvesting was by dredging.

“It’s a very remarkable circumstance, Sir”, said Sam Weller, “that poverty and oysters always seem to go together”.

So wrote Dickens in 1837, when oysters were a staple food for the poor people of London. They were so popular that fishing for them spread over an ever-wider area as stocks from the local beds became exhausted and pollution worsened.

Jersey was an ideal place for the Kent and Sussex oystermen to come to find replacement supplies, for the shallow seas off the east coast were littered with millions of flat-top bélot oysters,

Hens, have never been Happier!2

Food Trail - Oysters, mussels and low-water fishing; hens ‘n eggs and farm shops too!1 2

Distance: 7.5 miles (12 kms)

Bus no’s: Route No 1 bus around the coast from either St Helier or Gorey.

By Car: Drive to La Rocque Harbour where there is parking usually available.

FOOD TRAILSSummary

‘Ostrea edulis’. This variety was wiped out by disease and over-fishing in the early 1900’s, and is only now making a comeback and is being cultivated in Cancale.

This new industry began in earnest in Jersey in the 1810’s and over two and a quarter billion oysters were taken from Jersey waters over the next three decades! Gorey village was developed to house the fishermen and their families, a church was built, where services were in English not French, and a pier. Over 500 boats and 2000 people were involved in dredging, sorting, trans-shipping and the ancillary trades and crafts, such as boat building and sail-making.

The catch was shipped to the Thames estuary where it would be held in tributaries of the Thames to reduce saltiness, before being sold in London.

But over-fishing meant that by the 1830’s the stocks were so low that restrictions were placed on dredging. In 1838 the military were called in to prevent the boats from going out and Sir Archibald Campbell, the Governor of the time, caught a cold while overseeing the operations and died!

Over a century was to pass before the industry started up again. The bélot oyster had disappeared and so a new variety was introduced, the Pacific oyster, “Crassostrea gigas”, the oyster we know today.

While farming oysters and mussels in the bay of Mont St Michel from Cancale eastwards and along the Cotentin coast of Normandy has been a booming business since the 1950’s, it was only in 1971 that production on a serious scale re-started in Jersey.

The two main producers are La Rocque Fisheries, who were the first to take the initiative, and the Jersey Oyster Company. Together they export over 600 tons of two and three year old oysters every year, mainly to France, often to be brought on in beds there.

Jersey’s oysters are once again held in high esteem for their quality and consistency amongst oyster-lovers all over Europe.

Oyster A bivalve mollusc with unequal valves, the left valve being often cemented to a hard substrate; the shell valves are closed by a single muscle; often cultivated for human consumption. Regarded as a delicacy. Some species used for the culture of pearls.

Types found in Jersey: ostrea edulis: ‘bélot’ or flat-top oyster (cultivated in France); crassostrea gigas: Pacific or rock oyster, (cultivated in Jersey and France).

BenefitsOysters contain iodine, phosphorus and trace elements. When eaten at the time of a full moon, it is said they produce an aphrodisiac hormone – especially with a pint of Guinness (say the Irish!) The Pacific oyster is resistant to disease and is marketable all year round.

“Why then the world’s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open” William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor.

“In love you know, shellfish are all your allies” Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French epicure and gastronome.

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Oyster

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Les LandesVille

la Bas

La Villaise

L'Étacq

Les Pres

LesPallières

Portinfer

Plémont

La Crabière

Villeau Bas

La Miellede Morville

La Villede L'Eglise

Le Canné

Léoville

La Pulente

La Braye

La Corbière

La Moye

La Landesdu Ouest

St. Brelade

Portelet

île auGuerdain

Noirmont

St Aubin

La Haule

Mont desVignes

Beaumont

Airport

Crabbé

Ville èsNouaux

Bellozanne

The Grove

VilleEmphrie

Mont al'Abbé

Bagot

Dicq

Longueville

FiveOaks

Le Squez

Le MaraisEstate Le Haguais

Le Hocq

Pontac

Le Hurel

Fauvic

La Rocque

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Gorey

GoreyVillage

Verclut

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Maufant

Ville èsNouaux

RozelJardin

d'Olivet

Ville àl'Evêque

Les Campsdu Chemin

La Crête

Frémont

Mont Mado

BecquetVincent

Le BecquetServais (Sion)

VictoriaVillage

Les Quennevais

CarrefourSelous

PowerStation

Samarès

ST. HELIER

First Tower

GrandsVaux

Reservoir

Les Mielles

Grosnez Castle (ruins)

RaceCourse

Le Pinacle

ModelAircraft

Field

Treasures of the Earth

Battle ofFlowers Museum

Jersey PearlChannel Islands

Military Museum

JerseyWoollen Mill& FountainJewellery

BargeAground

Dolmen duMont Grantez

Kempt TowerVisitor Centre

SandRacing

Sand SculpturePark & Sunset

Nurseries

Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes

La MoyeCommon

QuennevaisLeisure Centre

St.Ouen'sManor

BouchetAgatewarePottery

Bleu SoleilCampsite

Les CreuxCountry Park

La CorbièreRadio Tower

Railway W

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Sir WinstonChurchillPark

JerseyLavenderFarm

OuaisnéCommon

PorteletCommon

Noirmont Command Bunker

ShellGarden

Reg’sGarden

RoseFarm

HarbourGallery

St. Aubin's Fort

WheatlandsGolf Course

JerseyRugby &HockeyClubs

JerseyBowl

aMaizin! MazeAdventure Park& Craft Centre

RifleRange

La MareWine Estate

Devil's Hole Mourier Valley

MotoCross

Go KartRacing

Le ClaireStables

Bon Air

The PotteryBelvedere

Terrace

St Matthew's (Glass) Church

Les Jardinsde la Mer

The WaterfrontCentre

OperaHouse

OccupationTapestry & Maritime

Museum

FortRegent

HowardDavisPark

JerseyRecreationGrounds

Samarès Manor

Dolmen duMont Ubé

Fort Henry

Seymour TowerIcho Tower

JerseyPottery

BeuvelandeCamping Site

La Hougue Bie

RozelCampingPark

DurrellWildlife

ConservationTrust (Zoo)

Les Augrès Manor

Highest Pointin Jersey

Pallot Steam, Motor& General Museum

IslandCentre Stone

Sir Francis CookGallery

Living Legend

Le Moulinde Quétivel

Jersey War Tunnels

Morel Farm

JerseyGoldsmiths& Lion Park

The Elms

ElizabethCastle

Marina

Marina

F.B.Fields

Vallée des Vaux

Grands Vaux

St. Peter's Valley

CoronationPark

SandRacing

Royal C.I.Yacht Club

St Catherine’sWood

MillbrookReservoir

Val deLa Mare

ReservoirSt. Ouen'sPond

Le Pulec

ST. OUEN'SBAY

La Grève au Lançon(Plémont)

Petit Port

La Rosière

FIQUETBAY

BEAUPORT

ST. BRELADE'SBAY

OUAISNEBAY

PORTELETBAY

BELCROUTEBAY

St Aubin's Harbour

Creux Gros

Creux Gabourel

Douet de la Mer

GREVE DELECQ

Creuxde Lasse

Les Reuses

Le FosseVicq

La Houle

ST. JOHN'SBAY

ST. AUBIN'S BAY

ST. HELIERHARBOUR

La Rocque Harbour

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GoreyHarbour

Anne Port

Archirondel

ST. CATHERINE'SBAY

FLIQUETBAY

Belval Cove

La Coupe

Saie Harbour

ROZELBAY

Le Sauchet

BOULEY BAY

Les Ruaux

GiffardBay

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ST. BRELADE

ST. MARY

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Low-water fishingThis corner of the island is a favourite place for low-water fishing, one of Jersey’s favourite pastimes. In the spring and autumn the moon’s phases drive the low tide out beyond Seymour Tower, where those who know will find ormers, a local delicacy, under rocks, and praires and clams in the sand at the water’s edge; some may rake for cockles, net for prawns or fork for plaice in the gutters. Some may know a hole to find a lobster or hook a lady crab from a crevice amongst the rocks.

The RouteWalk inland from La Rocque along La Rue du Pont to pass St Peter La Rocque, a fishermen’s chapel built in 1851 with the assistance of local fishermen. The project was started by the Rector of Grouville Church at the time, who was worried he might lose his flock of local fishermen to the Methodists!

Happy HensSpeaking of flocks, the bulk of free-range eggs consumed in Jersey are produced by the 8000 or more hens in the fields alongside the road here. Based on the Rhode Island Red breed, these chickens are imported as point-of-lay pullets and will lay eggs for the next fifteen months. All the 6000 eggs a day laid at Happy Hens are sold to restaurants and shops in Jersey. The company also grows four vergées of asparagus, an early Dutch variety and mid-season American ‘Jersey Giant’ variety. The asparagus can be found in restaurants and greengrocers around the island.

Continue straight on where the main road bends to the right, into La Rue des Nouettes, to pass glasshouses on the right growing flowers (notice the ‘honesty box’ where fresh-cut flowers can be bought - don’t forget the money please!), and on the left further along the lane, with tomatoes.

Turn left along the main road, then right into the Homefields Farm Shop.

Homefields Farm ShopA family run enterprise, the Le Bruns produce 70 different products on 140 vergées of their own land. They sell only to the local market, both to the retail trade and, in particular, to the restaurants and hotels. All their products are available in their Farm Shop, which was started 8 years ago and has been a great success.

Their outdoor produce includes lettuces, celery and spring onions, cabbages, parsnips, regular onions, and sweet corn, main-crop potatoes, beans of different varieties and, remarkably, an all-year-round crop of Jersey Royals.

Indoors they produce lettuce, spinach, butternut squash, melons, aubergines, peppers, chilli-peppers, beans, tomatoes and a range of herbs amongst other things. Walk through the farm and exit on the far side. Turn right up the steep lane, La Ruelle des Tours, ‘the little bendy lane’.

Continue towards the windmill, on the site of one of the oldest in Jersey, dating back to the 14th century. The mill, known as ‘Beauvoir’, has always been an important navigational aid, hence the white painted top. It was also used as a look-out tower during the Occupation, the top section added by the Germans for that purpose.

Turn right before the mill down La Rue des Champs, a winding lane offering stunning views over the Royal Bay of Grouville and the imposing Mont Orgueil in the distance.

Turn right at the bottom of the hill to pass one of several parish pumps in Grouville, this one dated 1903, then fork left along Le Rue St Malo.

The next turning is again to the left, sharply back along La Rue des Fonds. Take the second turning on the right after some distance (La Rue de la Haye du Puits), just past a house called La Prevelaye.

Food Trail - Oysters, mussels and low-water fishing; hens ‘n eggs and farm shops too!4 2

The Grouville Parish School is on the left at the end of this lane. Turn right here then immediately left towards the War Memorial. The house on the right along this road was formerly the Grouville railway station!

Cross over the main road – the statue on the right is of Harry Vardon, one of Jersey’s most famous sportsmen. Not only did he win the Open Championship six times, he also crossed the Atlantic in 1906 to win the American event.

Make your way down the lane towards the sea beyond the18th century Fort Henry. The golf course is common land so walkers may walk everywhere except on the Greens. While the golf club has used the common since 1873, it has also been used for many other activities over the years, including horse racing and as a shooting range. The gorse was grown both as fuel for bread ovens and as a defence against enemy landings.

Migrant BirdsThe scene from the wall out to sea is constantly changing, with the sea filling the bay on spring tides, when fishermen on the wall here cast for mackerel chased in by the dolphins. Or at low tide, just an expanse of apparently empty sand. Closer inspection however will reveal a host of seabirds, especially during the winter months. Large numbers of dunlin, sanderling, ringed plover and oystercatchers spend their holidayshere, not to forget the hundreds of Brent geese, who come every year to escape the bitter Siberian climate.

Ramsar SiteThe bay is called The Royal Bay of Grouville; together with the Violet Bank this is a vast 3200-hectare area that uncovers at low tide. It stretches around the whole of the south-east corner of Jersey from Gorey to St Helier. In November 2000 it was declared a Ramsar site, designated as a Wetland Area of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

MusselsAbout half a mile out to sea there is a mussel farm, which can be seen at low tide, row upon row of black poles in the sand. These are bouchots, 3.5 metre high wooden poles around which strings of mussels are wound to feed off the nutrient-rich waters.

After about two years the mussels are ready for harvest and these delicious molluscs, served ‘marinières’ or ‘a la crême’, can be found in all the pier-side restaurants and pubs in Gorey, the Jersey Pottery and most island restaurants.

A mussel is a sedentary bivalve mollusc found in estuaries and shallow seas and normally attached to substrata, such as a rock, by means of tough filaments; they feed by filtering particles of matter from water passing over gills; commonly used for human consumption.

The mussel has been farmed commercially in the Bay of Mont St Michel since 1954 and here in Jersey since the early 1970’s. The first project was abandoned because of damage caused by green crabs, and the poles cut down.

Recently restarted, with plastic ‘skirts’ placed at the foot of each pole to prevent crab damage, the new mussel beds are proving a success. The farm now has 3000 bouchots from which 150 tons of mussels are harvested annually, to be sold exclusively on the local market.

Turn north keeping the golf course on the left. Follow the track by the wall, or walk along the beach if the tide permits, the length of the golf course, but no further than the house set on the mound inside a moat (formerly Fort William).

Cross the course again before reaching the house, over the main road, across Gorey Common and follow the signs to Jersey Pottery. The main access is on La Rue de la Poterie, the first turning on the right off La Rue Horman.

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The Jersey PotteryThe Pottery was first established in 1946 by the Austin Potter family, who came to Jersey because of post-war restrictions on the production of pottery in the UK. The business was acquired by Clive and Jesse Jones in 1954 and is now operated by their daughter and three of their grandsons. It has grown rapidly into its present position as one of the island’s leading attractions.

Jersey Pottery produce beautiful ceramic ware, not only for the local and visitor market, but they also export to over 20 countries around the world, including all the crockery for a seven-star hotel in Abu Dhabi in 2004.

Apart from its reputation in the field of ceramics, the Pottery offers award-winning restaurant facilities (the Queen dined here in 1989), has restaurants, cafés and shops in Gorey and St Helier and also operates a successful outside catering business.

Return from the Pottery to La Rue Horman, turn right and right again along Le Chemin des Maltières.

Turn left at the T-junction at the end of La Chemin des Maltières, and up the steep hill, La Chèvre Rue. Fork left and continue up Côtil Vautier.

There are viewing points up this steep lane, known locally as Daisy Hill, so take the opportunity to stop and enjoy the views across to the 13th century Mont Orgueil castle.

Gorey Castle (Le Mont Orgueil – Mount Pride)Built from 1204, after King John ‘Lackland’ lost Normandy, it was the island’s main defence against the French until the end of the 16th century, when Elizabeth Castle took over that responsibility. While its location seems ideal for a fortress, the adjacent hill, Mont Nicholas, was too close for comfort. As cannon grew increasingly

more powerful and accurate the castle became too vulnerable and needed replacing.

The castle has been besieged over the centuries and even occupied by Normans during the wars of the Roses (1460 – 1468) and during the Second World War. It has been variously the seat of the Governor, a prison, and a base for a spy-ring during the French Revolution, known as La Correspondance.

Recently restored, Mont Orgueil is one of Britain’s best-maintained bastions and Jersey’s most important heritage site. CôtilsThe hillside fields here are known as côtils, south-facing fields planted once a year with Jersey Royal potatoes. These particular côtils are organic, having been left unplanted and untreated for the required period to qualify, approximately two and a half years. The Jersey RoyalThe famous Jersey Royal Fluke is an early potato of superior quality, first discovered by Hugh De La Haye in the1880’s. Its particular flavour, size and ease of preparation have earned the Jersey Royal an ‘appellation contrôlée’ status. Some 32,000 tons are produced each year, mostly for export to the UK.

South-facing côtils, where the potatoes are traditionally planted and dug by hand, provide perfect conditions for Jersey Royals. Planted in early January, they are lifted as early as the first week in April. Larger flat fields will be planted over the intervening weeks, with the season ending in mid-June.

To Prepare Jersey Royals for the TableBest eaten as soon as possible after digging, simply wash them (no need to peel!), boil in salted water with a sprig of garden mint, and serve with a knob of Jersey butter. Delicious!

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Queen’s Valley Reservoir

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Walk to the top of the hill, around the right-hand bend and take the second turning on the left, La Rue des Moulins, a narrow lane leading down to Queen’s Valley Reservoir. The large granite building in the distance is St Saviour’s Hospital.

Walk through the gate at the bottom of La Rue des Moulins and take the footpath to the left, keeping the reservoir on the right.

Queen’s ValleyLike the United Kingdom and most of mainland Europe, Jersey suffered from severe water shortages during the drought of the summer and autumn of 1976, when the island’s (then) oil-fired and very expensive desalination plant was in constant use.

Various ways to avoid similar future problems were evaluated, one of which was to flood this valley. This became the subject of island-wide debate, petitions and demonstrations, before the reservoir was started but it was finally opened in 1991.

The ‘Queen’ refers to the fact that this valley is a part of the former feudal fiefdom of ‘Le Fief de la Reine’, the Queen in this case being Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror.

Leave the reservoir at the first opportunity, just by the plaque commemorating the opening. Walk to the gate and turn right down the hill (La Rue des Teurs Champs), and left onto Le Chemin des Maltières. Turn next right down La Cache des Près.

Les Près ManorThe manor and farm is on the right. In 1170 Robert Malet, a direct descendant of the Conqueror, was granted a large fief, a feudal estate, with land extending to

the coast at La Rocque. It became known as Le Fief des Maltières or ‘Malet’s Land’. The property was acquired in 1841 by the present owners, the Le Maistre family, who had themselves been in Jersey since the 16th century.

It is still very much a working farm, with 80 head of Jersey cows, a working cider crusher and press, from which cider is still produced every autumn. Outdoor tomatoes, broad and runner beans, courgettes, sweet corn, and cauliflowers are grown in the fields around, including organic potatoes on the côtils above.

The farmyard and fields around have a wide range of domestic animals including horses, donkeys, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese. The marsh on either side La Cache des Près is also home to many visiting birds, waders in particular during the winter

months, and has its own group of white swans, with two very territorial black swans, who defend their ground with aggression!

Turn right at the crossroads opposite the cemetery and walk a short distance up the main road to the next turning on the left, La Rue des Fonds. Follow this lane for some distance, past where it joins La Rue du Parcq, past the pump and lavoir on the left, to the T-junction at the main Inner Road (La Rue de Fauvic).

Turn right, then first left along La Rue au Long. The Holme Grown farm shop and café is on the left after a short distance, a chance for some well-deserved refreshment.

Holme Grown‘Holme’ means marsh in Norse, a good name for a nursery business on marshland, Le Marais à la Coque. The low-lying area all around is susceptible to occasional flooding on high spring tides – they say that when the stream stops running, the tide is over 37 feet (11.4 metres)!

The farm is owned by the Payn family, one of the oldest families in Jersey. With Norman origins, their forebears landed with William at the Conquest at Hastings in 1066 and their descendants came to Jersey in the early1200’s.

Holme Grown’s main activity is growing Jersey tomatoes under glass. Tomatoes were almost unknown until the beginning of the 19th century. They achieved great success however through the quality and flavour of the outdoor varieties, and had a deserved reputation throughout the UK. The arrival of the Common Market and competition from the mass-producers in Holland and Italy took its toll – hundreds of tons were thrown away or fed to cows (turning the milk pink!).

Today Jersey tomatoes have recovered a place with the major retailers, but almost all are grown indoors. Whereas outdoor tomatoes have been grown at Fauvic Nurseries for over a century, today production is only indoors, at the rate of over 200,000 tomatoes a day, under an area of glass as big as seven and a half football pitches!

The tomato production is ‘bio-friendly’, managing pests by natural predators and pollinating the flowers using some two thousand bumble bees. Renowned for their quality, the various varieties of vine tomatoes are to be found in leading supermarkets throughout the UK.

The shop has grown from a barrow at the road-side in 2003, selling herbaceous border plants, to the splendid store it is today, selling their own and other produce, and now equipped with its own café.

Unusually and quite uniquely, Holme Grown also hosts the UK and World collection of New Zealand Cabbage Trees, cordilyne australis, an exotic tree seen all over the island, probably introduced by traders in the 19th century.

Rejoin the main road and continue to the crossroads. Follow the main road back to La Rocque.

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