Alderney, Channel Islands

A tour of Alderney takes you to the most remote part of the Channel Islands. Participants on a tour of Alderney discover an atmospheric paradise for history buffs and nature lovers, an island of eerie ruins and stunning beaches.

Like the other Channel Islands – Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, and Herm – Alderney was part of the Duchy of Normandy in the early Middle Ages, but, when the King of England lost mainland Normandy in the 13th century, Alderney stayed loyal to the English Crown. Today, Alderney is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, one of the self-governing dependencies of the British Crown, and not part of the United Kingdom. Alderney also has its own local administration.

Ruins of Fort Les Hommeaux Florains, Alderney.

Due to its location close to the coast of France, a succession of leaders – ranging from Queen Victoria to Adolf Hitler – have vastly overestimated the strategic importance of Alderney. In the Victorian Era, the British covered the island in a total of 18 forts and batteries, in order to dissuade French invasion, in a mania which William Gladstone, the future Prime Minister, reportedly dismissed as ‘a monument of human folly’.

Gladstone would be proven correct when the Channel Islands fell under German occupation during World War II. Almost all of Alderney’s residents had been evacuated before the Germans arrived in 1940. The Nazis covered the island in bunkers, observation towers and underground air-raid shelters, and built four labour camps; two of them, Sylt and Norderney, came under the SS in 1943, the only Nazi concentration camps on British soil. A 2024 expert review led by Lord Pickles, the UK government’s envoy for post-Holocaust issues, concluded that between 641 and 1,027 prisoners and forced labourers most likely died on the island during the occupation.

Today, many of Alderney’s forts and bunkers can be seen on walks around the island, and the Alderney Museum in St Anne tells their story; even at the height of summer, the island remains uncrowded. Like something out of ghost stories and adventure tales, many of the bunkers remain abandoned. History lovers will also enjoy the island’s Roman remains at the Nunnery, along with the ruins of a fort begun under Henry VIII.

Though small with the sea almost always in view – three miles long and one and a half miles wide – a tour of Alderney packs a punch for beautiful scenery. The size of the island makes it ideal to explore by walking tour, or by electric bikes. Alderney’s west coast and the nearby islet of Burhou are a wetland of international importance, protected as a Ramsar site for their range of flora and fauna. Alderney is a favourite with birdwatchers, who take particular delight in the puffins of Burhou and the gannet colonies on Les Étacs and Ortac. At Saye Beach, Alderney’s history and natural beauty collide, as white sands are framed by eerie Victorian and German forts.

Braye Beach, Alderney

The island’s main settlement is St Anne, a charming village with cobbled streets and multi-coloured cottages. Here you’ll find independent restaurants serving up local produce for lunch or dinner and welcoming bars where locals meet to share the latest gossip.

Unfortunately for travellers keen to visit Alderney, the remoteness that makes this Channel Island so distinct makes getting here a challenge. Direct flights connect Alderney with Southampton and Guernsey, and small passenger ferries link the island with Guernsey and Jersey, with crossings to Cherbourg and Diélette in France, mostly in summer; sailings depend on the weather, so check current schedules before you travel. Don’t give up hope: once you get to this fascinating and unique island, you’ll more than make up for the trouble getting here.

If you are planning a wider trip to the islands, our Jersey, Guernsey and Sark island-hopping itinerary compares Alderney’s neighbours, and our 22-day Normandy, Brittany and Channel Islands itinerary sets out a route from Paris to London that takes in Jersey, Guernsey and Sark.

Articles about the Channel Islands published by Odyssey Traveller:

• Channel Islands: Wildflowers, Potato Peel Pie and Rebels.
• Walking Tours for Active Travellers
• Highlights of the Channel Islands: St Helier, Jersey

For all the articles Odyssey Traveller has published for mature travellers, click through on this link.

External articles to assist you on your visit to the Channel Islands:

• Visit Alderney
• Lonely Planet: the Channel Islands
• Forts, puffins and Nazi shadows – has Anthony Horowitz found the most fascinating Channel Island?
• Visit Alderney: Victorians and Fortification
• Channel Islands Idyll: Family holidays on Alderney