Guernsey or Jersey? We spent a week in Guernsey working out which Channel Island to visit. St Peter Port, Castle Cornet, Victor Hugo’s house, the south coast cliff paths, and what everything costs. This is the first of two films. The second is on Jersey, and at the end of it we say which of the two we would go back to.
We arrived expecting somewhere fairly British and found a town where the street signs are in French, the distances are in metres, and the grandest buildings were paid for by state-sponsored piracy. There’s a castle that spent nine years shelling its own island, a novelist who was thrown out of three countries before Guernsey took him in, a beach in August with nobody on it, and ice cream the colour of the cows that made it.
Episode Facts
Victoria Tower: built 1846 for the visit of Queen Victoria. The key is borrowed free from the museum
Official language of Guernsey until 1948: French. House deeds were in French until 1972
Castle Cornet: begun 1206. The last Royalist stronghold in the British Isles to fall
Victor Hugo: exiled from France, Belgium and Jersey. Lived on Guernsey from 1855 and finished Les Misérables here
Renoir at Moulin Huet: 15 canvases in a single month, 1883
Gâche with Guernsey butter: £3.95
Crab sandwich at the Renoir Tea Garden: £16.50
Bus fare, anywhere on the island: £1.70
VAT and sales tax on Guernsey: none, until GST arrives in 2028
🎵 Original soundtrack composed and produced by Adam
Who are The Floating Nomads?
We are Rick and Adam, The Floating Nomads. We sold the house and now split our time between our UK narrowboat Serenissima and months of slow travel abroad by train, ferry and water. Whether spending 200 days in Malta and Venice or travelling from Buxton to Brazil without flying (as seen on CNN), we share the honest reality of life on the move. Our films combine Rick’s marketing background with Adam’s music PhD to capture the authentic atmosphere of every place we visit.
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Chapters:
00:00 – Guernsey vs Jersey: First Impressions
01:31 – Victoria Tower & Channel Island Views
02:47 – Exploring St Peter Port (Pirates & French Heritage)
05:32 – Castle Cornet: 800-Year-Old Island Fortress
09:24 – Victor Hugo in Guernsey: Hauteville House & The Octopus
13:21 – Tasting Guernsey Gâche & Golden Butter
15:06 – South Coast Cliff Walk: Icart Point
17:47 – Renoir Walk & Fresh Guernsey Crab at Moulin Huet
22:25 – Vazon Bay & Island Coastline Differences
24:25 – Travel Costs, Tax-Free Shopping & Final Verdict
26:45 – The Famous Guernsey Dairy Ice Cream Hunt
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