Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(rhyolite), which is found about 0.5 kilometres away. Moving a rock of that weight that
distance would have been a considerable challenge about which can only wonder.
The first record of the site was in 1682 and it has been excavated on 3 different occasions,
1839, 1868 and 1910. Bones from at least 5 humans were unearthed during the excavations
plus other items.
If driving the best place to park is on the road outside the Jersey Adventures residential
centre in St Martin. Follow the road east before it turns north; take care, as it is a narrow
lane, which is used, by a number of cars. If the visibility is good there are superb views
across to the Normandy coast of France with the delightful Ecrehous reef in between. At
the road junction there is one of the quirky signs, which appear around the island, “Dolmen
15 yards”. A path on the left side of the road leads through some rather dense vegetation
to a clearing where the dolmen is revealed.
This is just one of a number of dramatic historic sites, for those visitors who are spending
the majority of their time on the west of the Island then they may well prefer to visit the
dolmen at Grantez, which overlooks the northern end of St Ouen's Bay and is particularly
spectacular in the evening.
Grosnez Castle:
Situated on the north west corner of the island are the ruins of Grosnez
Castle. It is thought to date from the 14
th
Century and was probably a place of refuge for
the inhabitants of the local area. The cliffs provide a natural defence on 3 sides, whilst a
ditch and a wall provide protection on the landward side. The Castle was probably demol-
ished sometime in the middle of the 15
th
Century.
At the rear of the Castle there are concrete steps, which lead down to Grosnez Lighthouse
with some spectacular views of the cliffs towards Plemont headland. On most days it is
also possible to see the other Channel Islands to the north.
This is a great place to visit at any time of the year but it is particularly dramatic in severe
winter storms when the spray from the breaking seas is blown over the cliff top.
