‘One bunker is now a surf school’: a tour of Jersey’s wartime coastal defences

This week, the Channel Islands celebrate 80 years since liberation from Nazi occupation, but the fascinating bunkers, tunnels and towers that remain have found a new lease of lifeI’m woken by a tractor uprooting jersey royals in the potato field next door. In my simple hexagonal room, dawn illuminates five high slit windows marked with military coordinates and a compass etched into the ceiling. But heading downstairs, I timeslip into a 19th-century lounge where gothic-style windows frame sea views in three directions.During the second world war, Jersey’s occupying forces requisitioned Nicolle Tower, a whimsical two-storey folly, and added an extra level. In what is now the bedroom, German soldiers kept lookout for an allied invasion that never came. Continue reading...

May 8, 2025 - 07:57

‘One bunker is now a surf school’: a tour of Jersey’s wartime coastal defences

This week, the Channel Islands celebrate 80 years since liberation from Nazi occupation, but the fascinating bunkers, tunnels and towers that remain have found a new lease of life

I’m woken by a tractor uprooting jersey royals in the potato field next door. In my simple hexagonal room, dawn illuminates five high slit windows marked with military coordinates and a compass etched into the ceiling. But heading downstairs, I timeslip into a 19th-century lounge where gothic-style windows frame sea views in three directions.

During the second world war, Jersey’s occupying forces requisitioned Nicolle Tower, a whimsical two-storey folly, and added an extra level. In what is now the bedroom, German soldiers kept lookout for an allied invasion that never came. Continue reading...