Country Life

Once on this island

HE devil once lived in Guernsey, or so story has it. It came in the early Middle Ages, but didn’t remain for long. A saint, perhaps St Sampson, journeyed to the island to drive it out. The battle between the two stretched across Guernsey, until the devil was eventually beaten by Fontenelle Bay. As it fled, however, it slammed one hoofed leg down before leaping away into the air. The stone that bears the devil’s hoof print may still be seen today, although the deep mark of a cloven hoof has earned it the rather more prosaic nickname of Le Pid du Boeuf (the ox’s foot).

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