Channel Islands: why this underrated archipelago should be top of your 2026 bucket list

The Channel Islands are a curious blend. Closer to mainland Europe than Britain, they have a soupçon of Gallic flair: historic ties to France run deep and many place names have roots in Norman French. But in other ways these British Crown Dependencies feel more English than England. Or like an England of the 1950s, where doors can be left unlocked, traffic is minimal (or outright banned), children can run wild and the pound note is still legal tender. Holidaying here feels like a throwback to a different age – in the best possible way.

There’s a pleasingly slow pace across all of the islands, from Jersey, the biggest – (though, at nine miles by five, hardly sprawling) to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which embraces Guernsey, Alderney, tiny Sark, even tinier Herm and a sprinkle of uninhabited outposts. History noses onto the coast too: the islands are strewn with fortifications, some built over the centuries to repel the French, others part of Hitler’s ‘Atlantic Wall’ during the Nazi occupation. The memory of that dark period lingers: every 9 May, Liberation Day is celebrated, marking the end of Nazi occupation. The mass tourism that boomed afterwards in the 1980s is a distant memory, killed off by cheap packages to Spain. The upshot is a more peaceful, thoughtful archipelago that now trades on its natural and cultural charms. Luckily, the islands have both in abundance.

For starters, these southerly specks see more hours of sunshine than the rest of the British Isles – perfect for enjoying their glorious, varied edges. These range from 600-million-year-old granite cliffs to teeny coves of blinding-white sand to critter-strewn expanses of seafloor, exposed by some of the world’s greatest tides. Yes, the Channel Islands are sublime for beachside R&R – but they’re also so much more.

Lighthouse of Saint Brelade at sunrise

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Jersey

Thanks to Jersey’s thriving financial industry, St Helier is relatively built-up and bustling. But beyond it, the vibe shifts down a gear. Since 2011 Jersey National Park has protected 12 per cent of the island, including much of its spectacular coast. The most rewarding adventure is walking the 48-mile Coast Path, which wraps around every bay, beach, bunker, cliff and seaside café. For non-walkers, buses and e-bikes are ideal for hopping between highlights such as the formidable 13th-century Mont Orgueil Castle, the Neolithic passage grave of La Hougue Bie (one of the 10 oldest buildings on earth) and the vineyards of Le Mare Estate – after all, this is the same latitude as Champagne. Jersey also boasts Europe’s oldest surf school, while guided seabed walks reveal the strange new worlds exposed with every low tide.

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