10:45 Travelling in style

The two-seater Mercedes SLK we hired from Hertz at the airport was a nice change from our usual child-friendly, toy-cupboard-on-wheels MPV. In fact, writing about it now makes the loss of its pure beauty even more painful. Jersey is nine miles long and five miles wide and a key part of our experience was exploring this beautiful island, with its breathtaking coastal roads and leafy winding inland routes. Views are ever impressive and we found ourselves stopping frequently to take pictures.

11:15 Mont Orgueil Castle

We took the picturesque coastal route to Gorey Harbour, about a 20 minute drive from the capital of St Helier, to visit the famous Mont Orgueil Castle. It dates from the 13th century, when it was built to defend Jersey from the French. We climbed to the top and felt the views make the climb a truly essential part of a trip here. The castle houses various exhibits and a living history team that really gets into the spirit of things, leading to an enjoyable experience for all ages.

12:00 Lunch at the Dolphin Hotel, Gorey

The Dolphin Hotel is bustling with people and very friendly staff. It had incredibly cosy nooks to settle into on a breezy day (as it was), but is also ready to take advantage of the sun with comfortable outside tables. It’s right on top of the harbour so it gets an on-going provision of seafood. Between us we devoured both crab and lobster and, as the picture shows, they were large! At times it felt like we were battling with giant creatures from Sinbad’s adventures, but it was worth it because the prize was so fresh and tasty.

13:30 The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Next we headed to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Established by naturalist and author Gerald Durrell 50 years ago, its aim is to protect endangered species with programmes around the world. Here’s Claire with the statue of Jambo the silverback gorilla, who displayed great gentleness to a small boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure in 1986. We were given a behind-the-scenes tour and we’ll definitely return with our own two little monkeys next time.

16:30 Ice Skating in St Helier

We left the car at the hotel and walked into the capital, St Helier. We were booked in for an ice-skating lesson at the Waterfront Centre, which has a rink in the winter. It also houses a large swimming pool with water slides, a cinema and a number of bars and restaurants. Our coach, Sarah, used great skill and patience in helping us to get around without too many slips. Sadly, the photo of us in a laughing, tangled heap being circled by six-year-olds didn’t come out very well.

18:30 The Peirson and the pound notes

After our athletic exertions we felt we deserved a drink, so we took to the streets of St Helier in search of a bar and were spoiled for choice. We decided on the Peirson, which is on the Royal Square right in the centre. It was small, cosy and had a large array of drinking options. We both had Baileys, which really hit the spot. Unfortunately, the bartender gave us Jersey £1 notes in our change, which meant that we had to have another drink to use them up (any excuse!) before getting a taxi to our hotel.

21:00 The Prestige menu, Longueville Manor

After heading back to our gorgeous hotel, freshening up and supping our in-room Champagne, we went down for dinner in Longueville Manor’s award-winning restaurant. We picked the Prestige menu specially created by executive head chef Andrew Baird and general manager (and master sommelier) Pedro Bento. It featured seven courses, all expertly paired with fine wines. The experience recalled a meal we had on our honeymoon in Alberta, but surpassed even that in its ability to genuinely delight us.

9:00 Shopping in St Helier

After an impressive breakfast we checked out of Longueville and returned to the centre of St Helier to have a look around the shopping areas. There’s the full range of standard high-street shops and, also, a number of more specialist ones selling Channel Island produce and souvenirs. We took a leisurely stroll around, had a coffee and watched the world flow by. If you fancy an extensive shopping trip in beautiful surroundings, then St Helier looks to have it all.

10:00 St Aubin’s Bay

After shopping, we drove to beautiful St Aubin’s Bay. As land-locked Midlands residents, the sight of the beach tends to make us go a little crazy. On this occasion we ended up running around making mad concentric patterns in the wet sand, flapping our arms like birds. The nearby Elizabeth Castle (closed when we were there) can be reached across the sand when the tide is out and by small ferry when it’s in. It also has mid-day parades where you can join in with the “soldiers” (one for next time then).

10:45 St Ouen’s Bay

Jersey has many excellent beaches, so we finished with a short drive to and walk along St Ouen’s Bay, a place for beach sports activities including kite racing and surfing. We lingered for a while before heading back to the airport. After a tearful farewell to the Mercedes, we enjoyed another quick flight back to East Midlands. We absolutely loved our time in Jersey and felt we made full use of our 24 hours. However, there’s still so much to see so we shall return and next time we’ll bring the children!