MEDIA NEWSLETTER
February 2010
In our first ever edition of Guernsey News you will find information on the newest tourism experiences, the key events coming up, as well as…
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Second performance for Katherine Jenkins in Guernsey
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New tour brings The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to life
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Guernsey’s hotels unveil latest renovations
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Flybe introduces direct flights to Guernsey from Newcastle
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New Guernsey bus cards – inspired by a rare local delicacy!
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VisitGuernsey to launch online training programme
WHAT’S NEW
Just announced: Second performance for Katherine Jenkins, as tickets sell out in four hours!
Katherine Jenkins has added a second performance in Guernsey, as tickets for the first show sold out in only four hours.
The high profile opera singer will be helping to kick off Guernsey’s Liberation Anniversary celebrations in spectacular style, staging two special performances, on Friday 30th April and Saturday 1st May. Accompanied by the full 32-piece National Symphony Orchestra, she will sing a combination of classical and contemporary songs from her repertoire.
This year’s Liberation Day anniversary on Guernsey (Sunday 9th May) will have a special resonance, as 2010 marks both the 70th anniversary of the evacuation of islanders to Britain prior to the wartime Nazi occupation and the 65th anniversary of Guernsey’s liberation.
http://thingstodoguernsey.com/
New route: Flybe brings Guernsey closer for Newcastle passengers
Guernsey has been announced as Flybe’s latest route from Newcastle airport, with the first ever scheduled flights between Newcastle and Guernsey set to begin operation in July.
Newcastle is the 11th UK airport connected with direct flights to Guernsey. The new, twice-weekly summer service will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays, opening up new holiday opportunities from the North East for short breaks and longer stays.
Flights begin on 10 July 2010 and can be booked now on Flybe’s website. Fares start from £35.99 one way including taxes.
www.flybe.com
Rare delicacy inspires new Guernsey bus cards
London has its Oyster card, Hong Kong its Octopus card – and now Guernsey is following suit with new bus cards inspired by a local delicacy!
From 28 February, visitors to Guernsey will be able to use an ‘Ormer Card’ – a new multi-journey permit which is currently being rolled out across the island’s bus network. To ease the transition all bus journeys are going to be free for a week from 28 February.
Part of the abalone family, the Ormer is a traditional staple of Guernsey cuisine, but has become rarer in recent years. With an extensive re-population programme underway, this shellfish can now only be legally harvested at certain low tides between January and April each year. Visitors to Guernsey during these months are often bemused to see locals pulling on waterproofs and Wellingtons and wading into the shallows in search of the elusive delicacy….
www.gov.gg
New guide for the ‘smallest chapel in the world’
A new souvenir booklet on the Little Chapel in Guernsey, thought to be the smallest chapel in the world, is now available in three languages.
A work of art and a labour of love, the Little Chapel was started in 1914 by Brother Déodat, who wanted to create a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France. Beautifully decorated with seashells, pebbles and colourful pieces of broken china, work was never completed and today an ongoing programme of repairs and improvements is coordinated by a Charitable Trust.
The publication is available at the Tourist Information Office in St Peter Port, as well as most bookshops and tourist outlets in Guernsey. Entrance to the Little Chapel is free.
www.thelittlechapel.org
HOTEL NEWS
Boutique hotel The Farmhouse completes renovation
With parts of the building dating back to the 15th Century, boutique hotel The Farmhouse has now been completely renovated to offer a contemporary country feel and a welcoming relaxed atmosphere.
The four-star property has been luxuriously refurbished to an exceptional standard, with its four boutique rooms, six superior rooms and four suites all individually redesigned.
Each of the rooms offers modern amenities such as air conditioning and flat screen TV with satellite, while the deluxe marble tiled bathrooms feature under floor heating and deluge showers. Some rooms offer small balconies, whereas others have a freestanding bath in the bedroom itself!
Prices for a three-night short break at The Farmhouse start from £325 per room for two persons. The package includes: accommodation for three nights; free car hire; full English breakfast; champagne on arrival; fresh fruit, flowers and chocolates in your room; and morning newspapers.
www.thefarmhouse.gg
St. Pierre Park Hotel regains four-star status after extensive refurbishment
Guernsey’s largest hotel, the St. Pierre Park in St Peter Port, has regained its four-star status following an extensive £1.5 million refurbishment.
All 131 guest rooms and suites - each with a private balcony or terrace - have been redesigned to the very highest standards, to offer the ultimate in space and comfort. The overhaul also saw significant upgrades of the hotel’s conference facilities, as well as a new-look Terrace Café Bar.
Set in rolling acres of beautiful parkland, woodland and lakes, The St. Pierre Park boasts exceptional facilities for both leisure and business guests, such as the exclusive Le Mirage Health Spa and a 9 hole par 3 golf course designed by Tony Jacklin CBE.
The development brings the total of four-star hotels on the island to seven, which between them provide more than 20 per cent of the hotel accommodation on Guernsey.
www.stpierrepark.com
Cobo Bay Hotel achieves highest AA rating ever
Following a complete renovation, Cobo Bay Hotel in Guernsey received the highest AA rating ever achieved by a three-star hotel on the island and was the only hotel in this category to receive a Gold Award from VisitGuernsey.
The hotel has a brand new look after the £1 million project, upgrading all its 36 rooms (some with balconies with superb sea views), restaurant and facilities to an exceptional standard for a three-star property.
The menu of its award-winning restaurant changes daily to include freshly sourced fish and shellfish from Cobo Bay, whilst the impressive complimentary health suite offers guests a hot tub, sauna, steam shower and multi gym. A private sun terrace is also available.
Renowned for its hospitality and professional service, the family-run Cobo Bay Hotel offers an unrivalled beachfront location, overlooking one of Guernsey's most beautiful bays.
www.cobobayhotel.com
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Paperback of the Year: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society has been named as The Times WHSmith Paperback of the Year, a new award – the first in the UK – which recognises the particular role of books published in paperback form. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was selected from a list of 50 titles.
Originally a best seller in the US, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was first published in the UK in 2008 and has sold more than 250,000 copies. The book was begun by Mary Ann Shaffer and was finished by her niece, Annie Barrows, who completed it after her aunt’s death.
An atmospheric and touching epistolary novel, it tells the story of an author who receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and develops into a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation.
Hollywood producer Paula Mazur has bought the movie rights and a film based on the book is currently rumoured to be in development.
www.visitguernsey.com/guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie-society/
New tour brings The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to life
Fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society can now visit the places described in the book in a new walking tour on the island, designed by Gold Accredited Guides Annette Henry and Gill Girard.
Starting with walking around the old harbour, where you are taken back to the evening of 28 July 1940 and the surprise German attack, the tour continues to take in a series of sights of the capital St Peter Port, such as Fountain Street, High Street, Le Pollet, Candie Gardens and Victoria Tower, and then visits the old Town Hospital, where the heroine, Elizabeth, helps a poor child infected with scabies and sees first hand where the Germans were entertained by the French women.
Boarding a coach, the tour follows a route towards the parish of St Martins, through the narrow roads in Calais Lane, the Grand Manoir at La Bouvee, and Sir Ambrose’s House, all set in fine grounds and rolling countryside. Disembarking from the coach, the guide will walk you past grassy verges, emerging on the magnificent south coast cliffs above Petit Port, where Elizabeth meets her German lover.
The itinerary also visits the Underground Hospital and the largest German Bunker in the Channel Islands, while woven into the tour are stories of quarrying, witchcraft, fishing and sheer heroism, as the locals tried to make do and mend during the five long years of Occupation.
www.annettehenrytours.gg
www.gillgirardtourguide.com
PUT IT IN THE DIARY!
Occupation: Behind Barbed Wire
Saturday 13 March – Sunday 12 September
During the World War II, some 2,000 Channel Islanders were deported to prison camps in Germany. To occupy their time and to produce the comforts and necessities of life, the deportees applied themselves to arts and crafts. A range of objects and artworks will be on show, telling the story of enterprise during those dark years. The exhibition will be accompanied by educational and family activities.
www.museum.guernsey.net
Street Party - The Easter Feast
Saturday 3 April
The communal feast that marks the tradition of eating and gorging at the end of Lent will see a giant Easter Egg Hunt over an entire street, for children to search out oval-shaped chocolatey treats… Inside The Gallery there will be a free drop-in workshop – children will be able to buy plain chocolate eggs from master chocolatier Ben Le Prevost and decorate them with special chocolate paints!
www.thegallery.gg
Sark Wildflower Fortnight
Saturday 24 April – Saturday 8 May
Visit Sark between 24 April and 8 May as the island celebrates its natural beauty with the annual Wild Flower Fortnight. With no cars and virtually no pollution, Sark is one of the few remaining unspoilt islands in the western world – and each spring it comes alive in a blaze of blue, pink and white, as the spectacular wild flowers dominate the coastal paths and headlands!
www.sark.info
Guernsey Sings – A Thousand Voices
Sunday 9 May
Celebrating the Liberation Day anniversary in a grand way, Guernsey will bring together for the first time more than 1200 voices, which will sing together in one huge performance. Guernsey Sings – A Thousand Voices will be comprised of choirs and locals from across the island, who will perform a specially commissioned piece by a local composer and a programme of choral classics.
www.visitguernsey.com
TRADE NEWS
VisitGuernsey to launch online training programme
VisitGuernsey is set to launch a new online travel agent training programme in the first quarter of 2010 as part of a concerted effort to further develop its relationships with trade partners.
The training will offer agents insights into things to see and do on Guernsey, quirky facts and the range of ways to get to the island from 13 different departure points by plane and ferry.
Factual information will be complemented by colour content which will help paint a picture of the natural beauty, culture and lifestyle of Guernsey and her sister islands Herm, Sark and Alderney.
www.visitguernsey.com
Guernsey Trade Workshop reintroduced for 2010
VisitGuernsey will hold its first dedicated Guernsey Trade Workshop for more than five years in May. The event will enable tour operators, carriers and group travel organisers to learn more about the island, its products and its marketing plans for summer 2010 and beyond.
A civic reception will be held on the evening of 19th May, followed by a day of business meetings with on-island accommodation and transport suppliers. Familiarisation opportunities will be available for 21st May, with choices including an island tour, day visits to the sister Islands of Herm or Sark or the chance to experience some of Guernsey’s new adventurous products such as coasteering.
Registration has now gone live at www.guernseytradeworkshop.com for trade partners who currently programme the island, with VisitGuernsey keen to also encourage new travel trade interest. More than 40 per cent of leisure visitors to Guernsey book through a travel agent or tour operator.
www.guernseytradeworkshop.com
For more information on visiting Guernsey please go
to www.visitguernsey.com or call 01481 723 552
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