Guernsey walking holiday

Planet

It is safe to drink the water from the tap in the Channel Islands, however, for customers keen to avoid buying single use plastic bottles we encourage customers the chance to purchase a discounted filter Water-To-Go bottle which combines three different technologies to remove over 99.9% of all microbiological contaminants in water.

We operate a ‘leave no trace’ policy on tour; our tour leaders are trained to promote this message to customers. As the focus of this trip is primarily walking, we aim to leave a minimal impact on the areas as possible. This trip actively encourages customers to reduce the carbon footprint to a minimum. The local authority encourages people to explore Guernsey on foot and use public transport as much as possible. All guided walks are taken directly to and from the hotel we use where possible, or the trailheads are reached using public buses and public boats to reach the islands of Herm and Sark.

We encourage our customers to not deviate from designated walking areas so as not to upset ecosystems irrespective of the size. We also provide encouragement to not to feed birds or other wildlife as they become reliant on tourists.

We’re committed to running our business responsibly. In our office we reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever possible. It’s in a refurbished mill, and we’ve also installed a waterwheel to generate electricity from the river. It was the first of its kind in Britain, gives us our own sustainable source of power and any excess goes to the National Grid.

People

We stay in a family owned and run hotel, The Pandora Hotel, in Guernsey’s capital of St Peter Port. Breakfast and dinners are served at the hotel; however, lunches are taken in a variety of local eating establishments, such as beach cafes, pubs and shops to purchase picnic supplies, which helps to spread the financial benefits of tourism.

The location of the hotel we use results in being able to walk to the boat ports to reach the lesser known islands of the Channel Islands and rather than being located out of town in a remote village, where transport would always be necessary to reach our walking destinations.

We offer financial aid to walking groups within the UK to maintain walking by young and old for future generations, to help towards rebuilding broken paths and bridges that have been washed away. This falls under an organisation called the Charitable Trust.

We cap passengers at a maximum of 18 customers so as not to impact on the environment surrounding Guernsey, especially as we explore primarily on foot and on ‘rights to roam’ land. We use as many locally owned services as possible throughout this trip.