The islands on the front line of England's age-old rivalry with France

This is a vivid travel account of the Écréhous, a tiny, windswept archipelago six miles east of Jersey that has sat on the faultline of Anglo-French rivalry for centuries. The narrative combines landscape description with history: the islands passed into Norman hands in 933, joined the Anglo-Norman realm after 1066, were stranded politically when Philip II took Normandy in 1204, and remained contested until the International Court of Justice awarded them to Jersey in 1953. The pieces of rock and sand host seabird reserves (Maîtr'Île is an Area of Special Protection), scrubby fishing "cottages" on La Marmotière, seal colonies and treacherous sandbanks such as L'Écrevière. Key historical specifics include a medieval chapel (1203-1413), smugglers and hermits, 19th-century fisherman Philippe Pinel who styled himself "King of the Écréhous," and Alphonse Le Gastelois’s mid-20th-century exile.

The visit is described in practical, sensory detail: a 15-minute RIB from St Catherine’s Breakwater, threading shallow channels, clambering onto "Treasure Island" and wandering pebble beaches and rock pools among day-trippers. The cottages are treated as heritage property tied to Jersey parishes; phones even switch to Paris time, underscoring the liminal geography. Trips run via Jersey Seafaris (from about £48) with seasonal sailings; Jersey is reachable by several UK carriers and local accommodation options start at modest rates, making the islets visitable despite their remoteness.