Backpacking In Guernsey: My Stay In The Captain’s, Saint Martin

“Good morning the captain” – Condor Ferries Captain (2009).

July 2022 and Northern Ireland are playing at Euro 2022 – we end up playing a hat-trick of matches in Southampton. The thing is though, as an AFC Bournemouth fan I had never been that fond of Southampton as a city and as a result, during the entire tournament I basically wanted to pop in and out quickly for the matches. But where else nearby haven’t I been?
Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, Herm, Lihou – tick
New Forest – tick
Isle of Wight – tick
Portsmouth – tick
Winchester – tick
BCP – lived there for 6 years

Then I remembered that I hadn’t yet been to Alderney and so it was an easy option for me to finally go there. A spanner thrown into the works was that the flight connections meant I’d have to spend a night in Guernsey again!! But actually in retrospect, this was a breath of fresh air as it was my first time in Guernsey since 2009. That 2009 trip was part of a crazy summer working for Condor Ferries. In fact, I once smuggled a spear gun into Guernsey! Well, I helped a customer and the police get a licence to carry it, while I was working on deck.

The same summer, I also backpacked through Saint Malo, Cherbourg, Jersey, Weymouth, Portland, Poole, Sark, Herm and Guernsey. But on that occasion I slept at the Saint Pierre Park Hotel on the edge of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. I don’t have many photos of myself from that trip, but here are a few, shared here today for the first time.

Guernsey is the home of Southampton FC legend Matthew Le Tissier. A footballer who I used to love watching despite being an AFC Bournemouth fan.

“It’s only Matthew Le Tissier who can score goals like that” – BBC Commentator, 1990s.

On that trip, I toured the war tunnels, I visited Lihou Island, the fort, the cannons and about 6 pubs.

I also tried on the Guernsey FC shirt but in those days, I felt that I couldn’t afford to buy it. I probably should have bought it.

“Football is an entertainment industry” – Matthew Le Tissier.

This time, two decades later (in years – 13 years later), there was a crazy story related to my taxi driver in Guernsey, by a freak coincidence of events, being Kevin Le Tissier. It’s Matthew Le Tissier’s brother!! This was ridicuous…and is a separate story I will have to tell in a book or future blog post. It’s a truly ridiculous story.

And so Kevin Le Tissier dropped me off at The Captain’s (and I won’t share the crazy part of the story just yet). I just wanted to share my experience of The Captain’s. It’s a cosy hotel with a great bar below – friendly staff and I had a cosy room, room 8 with a television, an ensuite and tea and coffee. It was definitely a bonus in the end being back in Guernsey for a night on this trip! Here are some photos from The Captain’s, Saint Martin, Guernsey.

All in all I had a cosy night here and I also enjoyed the surprisingly tasty chilli nachos from the bar below.

Here are the details for booking a room at The Captain’s, Saint Martin, Guernsey:
https://www.facebook.com/Thecaptainshotel
https://www.thecaptains.gg/
La Fosse, St Martins, Guernsey, Guernsey

Here are some videos from my time staying at The Captain’s, Saint Martin, Guernsey: