Alderney. Delicate Aurigny in french. An island that has fascinated me for several years. Who works my imagination. Who chose to live on the furthest of the Channel Islands? What is she like ? So close to France and yet so little known. Inevitably intriguing.
I was not mistaken. I discover an island of all contrasts. Heat of the Gulf Stream. Authenticity of a land cut off from the world that knew how to build its own identity. Autonomy of an island that receives no economic help from the British crown, striking landscapes of beauty, crystal clear waters. And, a pocket airport …
Aurigny also projected us in history, that of the enmity between France and England, that of the battle of Hastings which opposed William the Conqueror to King Harold in 1066.
An island of pirates first since the governor of the island, a Frenchman named Le Mesurier, made his fortune by robbing the boats that approached the island.
Over the centuries, violence has not subsided. During the Second World War, it was the Germans who took possession of the island (the population had just been able to evacuate a few days earlier), and transformed it into a war zone, then into a deportation.
Abused, tortured, worn out, the island and its inhabitants have finally found a peace and serenity that make it its trademark. `
Here, no shops licked (prefer Guernsey for shopping), a land that offers itself without bidding, without ambitions, a natural island that you must know how to tame.
In Aurigny, one takes his time, one makes long bike rides to the discovery of the 18 forts and batteries constructed by the British, one observes the impressive colony of madmen of bassans (12 000 anyway!) Which elect domicile On the rock of the supports. 2% of the world’s population of this bird has chosen to live there. Aurigny is also the ideal place to observe the puppin (puffin), emblem of the island, but also the pitchou warbler. Finally, you will also discover the largest colony of blond hedgehogs in Europe. The inhabitants tell you sparkling eyes that some 40 years ago, an inhabitant would have brought a couple of blond hedgehogs on the island (legend says they would have been bought at Harrod’s!). Proof of this is that the two hedgehogs were seduced by the climate and the fact that there are no predators because today they would be almost a thousand on this small island. Blond, some black and some gray, that is to say some blond thorns and some black thorns. Go to meet them at night, (the golf course is their favorite hiding place), a hunt that will enchant your children …!
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