Well its more than a week in my new home of Jersey and the weather has been truly horrendous since my arrival, not just a little wet and windy but gale force winds, hail storms, floods, thunder and lightening. Apparently these are worst storms Jersey has had in decades…and I’m working outside in it. I should know how to pick the places don’t I?
I’m based at Durrell Wildlife Park as a Student Keeper and, despite working outdoors in such weather being truly awful, I do on the rare occasion get to hang out with the baby flamingos who are both cute and happen to have taken a shine to me.
Not everyone minds the weather and Wallace, just one of several hand reared flamingo chicks is quite happy to get out to play even in the chilly weather.
Luckily I’ve moved location and am now based outside St Martin instead of Bouley Bay so only a 15 minute walk my work at Durrell Wildlife Park (now Jersey Zoo) instead of 40 minutes uphill. My new home from home is much warmer, has kitchen facilities and much more frequent buses to town if you don’t mind the 15 minutes walk in the storms to the bus stop.
After my first week here in the Channel Islands, it’s pretty clear that Jersey is not the easiest of places to visit in the winter. All tourist attractions are shut, as are a lot of places to eat and many of the shops in the tourist hotspots.
My only day trip so far has been to near by Rozel which is a picturesque fishing village. I even got an hour of sunshine to explore but unfortunately Rozel Bay doesn’t have too much to offer this time of year. While still full of beautiful little houses along the water front and busy fishing boats the tea rooms and cafes that are highly popular during peak season are shut for the winter.
Have you ever visited Jersey in the off season? What are your winter weather suggestions?