Herm should be on prescription for a week out of anyones year. But how is it with a dog? Caroline Moody went to find out
THIS was our fourth visit to Herm, but the first with our dog, Zippy. Travelling with a dog, we were to discover, felt a bit like travelling with a baby for the first time. But this time it was Bacon & Cheese Whirlers, not bottles of formula, a bowl for water, not a bottle of milk, poo bags, not nappies, a cage, not a buggy.
Hang on. A cage? I have never put my dog in a cage in the seven months I have had him since he was rescued from the mean streets of Spain.
The cage, RSPCA approved, was required by Condor Ferries for the Jersey-Guernsey leg of the journey. It was not something that I was looking forward to but in the event it wasn’t as bad as I expected. We walked him onto the car deck of the ferry, where we set up the cage with his blanket and his toy and a bowl of water.
You can access the car deck with staff permission but we chose not to for the quick hour that we were on Condor Liberation, which ran perfectly on time. Not surprisingly, Zippy was very happy to see us as we docked in St Peter Port, and we could let him out of the cage before walking him off the ferry.
After a couple of nights in Guernsey, it was time to take the ferry to Herm, the Travel Trident crew being exceptionally helpful when it came to storing the cage for us.
Zippy was allowed to be on the lead on this ferry and we took our seats where he could stretch out. However, he trembled for the entire 20 minutes, eventually resorting to sitting on us. But as soon as he set paw on land it was forgotten.
Tail wagging, he bounded up the Rosaire Steps and up the hill towards our accommodation. We stayed for three nights in Elm Tree, one of Herm’s comfortable self-catering log cabins, up near the Seagull Campsite. It was well kitted out and would be a great base for young families, or people like us with dogs.
With two bedrooms, a lounge, galley kitchen and shower room, it was spacious for two of us. We were glad that there was enough tea, coffee and UHT milk to greet us. The shop for provisions was a 15-minute walk away at the Mermaid Tavern, where you can buy bread, milk and a few basics.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how much off-lead walking there would be in Herm. There are small areas where polite signs ask that dogs are kept on leads, near the power station and the shops, for example, and there was a small section of the south coast where the drop was too sheer for me to feel comfortable leaving Zippy to roam free, but apart from that, he could sniff and explore at his pace. I did also keep a keen eye on where the young pheasants were likely to be, as he was a little too interested in them.
Herm is just a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, and you wouldn’t think there would be as much walking as there is. It never ceased to surprise me how long walks could be. When we took Zippy for an early-morning walk (his ‘comfort break’) ‘around the block’ it took about 50 minutes.
I have always considered Herm to be idyllic, but having the company of a dog made it extra special to walk around the south coast cliffpaths or the north coast commons at eight o’clock in the morning, when no one else was yet up, and certainly no daytrippers had yet arrived.
Experiencing a lot more fresh air and long walks than he is used to in one day, Zippy was happy to wait patiently when we stopped for meals at the Mermaid Tavern or the Ship Inn. We were lucky to have fantastic summer sun, making it easy to stay out as long as we liked, sit on beaches, and walk and walk and walk.
You really can’t beat Herm for peace and quiet. There is nothing better than sitting on a rocky outcrop watching the boats go by, with just some squawking oyster catchers for company. And a happy dog at your feet.
For those who like to combine some socialising into their break, Herm hosts some ale and cider festivals through the year. Our visit just happened to coincide with the Great Scottish Ale Festival. It was busy at the Mermaid as Travel Trident ran extra ferries to bring in visitors just for this event. Ales, ciders, wines and even champagnes were on offer, as well as a hot buffet. Zippy even joined us in the courtyard for the evening, though he was none too keen on being too close to a speaker when Sark band The Wrecks struck up.
Such festivals can bring in about a thousand people over their duration, boosting what has been a difficult season for Herm with the poor summer weather. We were exceptionally lucky – we had a run of fine sunny weather. After runs on beaches, dipping his paws into the sea and wrestling with seaweed, Zippy had sand on his nose and windblown fur.
It was slightly disappointing, though understandable, that dogs are not allowed on Herm’s beaches between 1 May and 30 September, so Shell Beach was out of bounds to him, at any time of the day. In the event it didn’t matter because that was the windy side of the island that week. We headed over to Bears Beach on the north-west side and had the perfectly good beach to ourselves.
The water was so clear and calm that even I went in for a swim. Zippy paddled and played but has not quite lived up to half of his breed, the one which says there is Spanish water dog in him.
On our second day, just when Zip thought life could not get any better (he had not seen a cat for three days), Benson arrived in the cabin next door. He was a very friendly Portuguese water dog who made for a fun holiday friend.
Zippy’s first holiday was turning out very nicely indeed.
