The last stage of the walk takes you back to La Rocque Harbour. Should you wish to continue on the beach, this is possible at low tide but involves scrambling over rocks and small pools. If taking the road, simply continue left from Seymour slip until you reach the harbour.

A Ringed Plover.

If taking the road, you will pass between houses on each side of the road before the view opens up again of La Rocque Harbour. Once on the pavement take time to look over the sea wall to the beach below you. The area before you is a nesting ground for many species of local birds and a temporary home for migratory species.

Black backed gulls, not to be confused with their paler cousin the herring gull, thrive in the area and birds such as Shags and Ringed plovers can be seen with a little patience.

All that remains of an old wooden jetty.

The importance of the harbour area to man can clearly be seen, as at any time many small craft are moored here; most belonging to fishermen rather than pleasure boaters. Over the sea wall, depending on the tide several much weathered poles can be seen jutting from the sand, relics of a long-gone jetty.

Daisies find a foothold in the sea wall.

High tides can be ferocious, particularly when combined with winter storms, so protecting the land has always been a priority. This can be seen in the considerable amounts of local granite used to constuct the sea and harbour wall. The present harbour was constructed in 1881.

When conditions worsen and the tide is high, the curve of the harbour wall affords vital protection to the small craft moored inside. But the walls are also a place of refuge for all sorts of plants and insect life too. Daisies, grasses, lichens and succulents have found a foot hold in these man-made structures, and thrive on the sunlight, warmth and moisture.

A dark moment in Jersey's history remembered.

As you reach the first slipway on your left, take a moment to read the placque fixed to the wall. It commemorates those who lost their lives in 1940 as the reusult of the first bombs ever to fall on the island just days before the Occupation began.

Continuing past the slip, and along the gravel carpark, you will see on your right a cider press in the garden of one of the houses. Historically Jersey was an island covered in apple trees, from which cider was made and exported to England. As late as 1830 as much as a quarter of the island was still covered in apple trees.

Traditional cider press.

Cider is still made today by La Mare Vineyards in St. Mary who buy apples in from local growers and private gardens. Jersey apples are also used to produce a local speciality, Apple Brandy.