WEEKEND ON… ALDERNEY

Caroline Wheater enjoyed getting to know Alderney in the Channel Islands

Part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency, Alderney is closer to France than any other Channel Island – a fact that is reflected in its Norman French patois. At three-and-a-half miles long, and a mile-and-a-half wide, the island is home to around 2,000 people and an abundance of wildlife, particularly northern gannets and puffins, which are present in large numbers from mid-March to mid-July during the breeding season. Dolphins and seals are regularly spotted out on the waters too.

Alderney was occupied by the German army during World War Two and became part of Hitler’s famous defensive Atlantic Wall. As a result, 655 concrete bunkers dot the shoreline. Some have been turned into beachside retreats, others lie empty, reminding us how Europe imploded in the early 20th century. Today, islanders enjoy a