I started to relax when I arrived at Fermain, hearing the sound
of the waves falling on the pebbled beach; silence fell as someone behind me dropped
back and then, no longer hearing him behind me, I was on my own. There were lights ahead and none behind. The lid on my bottle had burst as I left
Belvedere Field, soaking me. I had set
off cold and wet with no water but all this was forgotten when I heard the waves
at Fermain. I looked forward to the
night ahead. Passing Bec du Nez, Marble Bay, then the forbidden Divette and
beyond, past where I knew the medieval breakwater was, although I have never
seen it. Up the steps to Jerbourg where robed
figures nodded encouragement and past the magnificent Pea Stacks, four sea
stacks perfectly aligned in the dark. I couldn’t see them but I knew they were
there.
Past my favourite and the finest of bays, Petit Port, then on to Moulin Huet, Bon Port and Saints Bay.
Petit Port
I was excited to be alone in the dark and hoped my light would last the distance. Down the rarely trodden steps to Saints Bay, up the slippery wooden steps, past the Loophole Tower, then along the road to the harbour. Up and round Icart Point and past Le Jaonnet Bay and towards Petit Bot where I moved uphill, taking care to take the right path.
The cottage at Le Gouffre was dimly lit, there was no sign of life. Following the rugged cliff top coastal path, past La Corbiere and Le Prevost tower, Les Tieilles and the Mont Herault Watch House, the German Observation Tower, L’Angle.
Under the Pleinmont Observation tower, round and down the path through the rocks and past the Fairy Ring, to the orange glow in the dark at Fort Pezeries. None of this could I make out, in the murky and dark night sky; the moon was almost full and quite bright but locked behind the clouds, its light was dim. But I knew all of this was there and instead of seeing these things and the blue sea and the white horses crashing onto the south coast, instead I listened to the waves, the oystercatchers, gulls and pheasants, which I startled on my way along.
Knowing how easy I fall, I tried to focus and make sure not to trip. A couple of well saved
falls led to minor bruises and scratches, one on my nose where my headtorch
broke my fall but all was good and nothing would stop me picking my way slowly
to the end of the cliffs where I was treated to food and drink and given a new top
for my bottle. The kindness of
strangers in the dark of the night on the cliffs of the south coast of
Guernsey.
None of this could I see, as I retraced my steps, past the
Fairy Ring, then headed right to the gap in the rocks of the headland and made
my way back up the path to the cliffs.
The clouds shifted a little, the moon appeared and for a few hours the
moon shone on my journey and lit the sky.
The rain came, went and came again, heavily and I sheltered
under some trees on the path down to Le Gouffre while I put some layers
on.
Daylight slowly came my way as I made my way back heading
east, towards the rising sun; light blue slivers of bruising in the sky slowly bled
into blue patches which became larger as the dark night sky cleared to become daylight
and all of a sudden, I was heading back to the start on what felt like a brand
new day.
The orange leaves strewn across the paths glowed brightly in
the sun, the sea was turquoise again and the white horses were bright and
white. The rain had stopped and I was
out on the cliffs on Sunday morning, a spectacular start to my day. I ran past the Bathing Pools, through the Postern
Gates and up the steps, into Belvedere Field to the cheers of the race
organiser and the marshalls who kindly waited for me to finish, and treated me to my breakfast, a perfect bacon sarnie.
A fabulous night on the cliffs, with the incredible nocturnal support of marshalls without who this type of night time escape could not happen. So many thanks.
Photos from a previous excursion in daylight.
Results:
1 4h 36m 44s Tiaan Erwee Course record
2 5h 43m 27s Graham Merfield
3 6h 30m 57s William Dawber
4 6h 47m 19s Tom Bradshaw
5 7h 2m 49s Rex Bisson
6 7h 18m 54s Mark Hoskins
7 7h 22m 05s David Cox
8 8h 14m 37s Sarah Smith Course record
