Visiting Alderney: The Channel Island Secret Made for a Wild Wellness Escape

Alderney is just a 45-minute flight from the UK and offers a safe yet adventurous trip filled with opportunities to nurture your soul. Here’s what I managed to do in a three-day trip to come home feeling refreshed and inspired…

Gazing out the panoramic window over the almost empty Arch Beach I’m uncomfortably hot, and getting hotter. Our cabin is pushing 70C, the sand timer is almost at ten minutes and I’m boiling up from the inside. But I absolutely cannot leave. I need to hear Clare’s story.

“I’m here because my auntie had a house in Alderney for years. She was quite… well known,” revealed my sauna partner and Alderney’s yoga teacher Clare Evans – gingerly rather than boastfully. 

I’m hanging on to her pause. Eagerly waiting for the big reveal. 

“Julie Andrews?” 

My jaw hit the metaphorical floor – my heartbeat through the roof. As a lifelong Mary Poppins and Maria fan, I was processing the fact that I was currently sweating it out in a sauna with a relative of such cinematic royalty. 

It turned out Julie Andrews had come to the island while filming Camelot, to have some time out as a guest of the film’s author T H White. He had a house in St Anne, the main town. She loved her trip and on her way to the airport noticed a for sale sign outside a cottage, which she mentioned to him. Next thing, he’d bought it for her and she enjoyed years of an ‘Alderney bolthole’ for herself.  Leaving a legacy on the island for all of her family to enjoy, including her niece Clare. 

“I saw her just two weeks ago in New York,” she says, as I sat, stunned.

Wild swimming on Alderney 

We exit for air and in padding down to the beach across the rocks in our swimsuits, Clare tells me how she swims every day, either with the Alderney Swim and Soup group or alone.

My initial trepidation of our first chilly dip had been washed away, and now on our third I was happily surface diving enjoying the thrill of the cool, fresh, crystal clear water. 

Sauna on Alderney 

We’re sea dipping at Arch Beach – one of the most beautiful on the island. Entrepreneurial Scot Treina Hartell set up Adrift wood-fired sauna in early 2024 on the overlooking clifftop. Locals and tourists can rent the cabin privately or join a shared session. It’s on wheels so changes position to enjoy different views of the island’s stunning coast.

Treina moved to Alderney three years ago for a change of pace, and for her children to grow up in a safe community. She ‘absolutely loves it’ and with her pottery decorating shop Adrift Alderney in St Anne, she has become an important member of the community. 

Yoga on Alderney 

I’d only arrived on the island that lunch time. It was just a five-minute taxi ride from the airport to The Blonde Hedgehog Hotel where I was staying.

Clare’s house was my first stop. She has an incredible yoga studio in her ‘basement’ where Alderney’s newest yoga teacher and personal trainer Natalie Hildon gave me a private yoga session. After a few weeks of struggling with my back she confirmed that yes, I do need to spend less time at my laptop and thanks to tight muscles on my right side – my posture was wonky.

What followed was a special yoga session tailored especially to me. Her impressive insight into how my body was currently working (and struggling), meant she proposed bespoke stretches and exercises to ease the strains. I could feel the benefits immediately.

Natalie had only arrived on the island a few years ago from living in Abu Dhabi. When Clare heard there was a new yoga teacher in Alderney she arranged a meeting. Rather than any inkling of competition they became instant friends and now run retreat days together at the Yogalderney studio, supporting each other’s work. 

If I’d only been more observant at Clare’s, I would’ve seen the photos on the walls of Julie Andrews’ illustrious career, and evidence of Clare’s father’s part as costume designer in the films. I was distracted by her home’s incredible view of the bay – envious of how that kitchen vista must change with the seasons. 

Exploring Alderney 

After our sauna and swim Clare took me on a whistle-stop tour of the island in her charmingly rickety jeep. There are no MOTs on the island, and you can’t go faster than 30mph – great news for the many dilapidated cars I saw. 

First stop was the only gannet colony in the Channel on Les Etacs island. There were thousands of them and the Alderney Wildlife Trust has a live camera on them at all times.

Next, we whizzed by some impressive homes. The Laura Ashley house, crime writer Rachel Abbot’s, Ian Botham’s old place – then the Odeon building, Henry VIII’s Nunnery, and the Womble Trail (creator, Elisabeth Beresford lived on the island for 30+ years).

Finally, Julie Andrews’ cottage. A lowkey two-bed near Alderney’s tiny airport on the way into town. 

Clare had lived in it with Julie Andrews’ daughter for a crazy summer back in the day. Apparently her adult-aged children still put their fingers in their ears when it’s mentioned.

A few residents tell me about Alderney’s legendary nightlife scene on my trip, featuring bunker parties, beach parties and house parties until the sun comes up. Once upon a time I would’ve loved it, but not today.

Dinner at The Blonde Hedgehog Hotel 

That night Natalie, Clare and I had dinner at The Blonde Hedgehog, with Tracey Farquhar-Beck, the hotel’s manager who’d invited me to the island. The eclectic menu made it a tough choice, but I had scallops to start, then sea bass and pineapple fried rice, and the four of us shared the lemon posset for dessert. They regaled me with tales of the island. 

“It’s not for everyone. You need to get involved,” Natalie tells me. 

A sentiment further echoed the next day by Roland from the Alderney Wildlife Trust who told me, “You should be able to ask for help. The island is very good at responding to help and if you don’t ask, you miss most of the interesting bits”.

Travel links into Alderney

The next morning I’m up early to listen to Tracey on the Roberts radio in my room on BBC Radio Jersey. Alderney has just got a ferry link in from Guernsey, and now there’s going to be a flight from Jersey too – great news for the island’s tourism industry. 

The 45-minute flight I’d taken from Southampton is around £360 return, prohibitive for many. These new connections make an island hopping trip all the more attractive, and will bring the 100,000+ population of Jersey to Alderney, which only has a year-round population of 2000. 

An e-cycling tour of Alderney

After a fabulous continental breakfast in the airy and light dining room at The Blonde Hedgehog I’m off for a e-cycling tour with Roland. It’s just a short walk to his HQ down the main street in St Anne, past the eclectic mix of Alderney’s restaurants, shops, cinema and radio station.

We pick up our bikes from Cycle and Surf, although I’m very distracted by the great seclection of clothes for sale.

Our cycle starts with one of the approximately 100 bunkers on the island. Roland and his wife transformed this one into a museum to remind visitors of their dark history. Built by slaves it’d cost too much to remove them now though.

“There’s nothing we can do but memorialise it and treat it as a monument to those who died,” says Roland. 

We wander around inside and see where soldiers slept and worked, with very little light and air. “Alderney was a rough and ready place after the war,” Roland tells me.

Outside, the bunkers help support wild flowering as the limestone encourages the growth. “It’s a hugely energetic environment for the wildlife,” he says.

Roland spent his childhood on Alderney, hanging out in the wild landscape and even living in the nunnery for a while. “Freedoms here are huge, limitations are small. Everything is a just a bit more capacity limited.”

Most people live in St Anne. There are just 70 houses outside of the main town, along with 50 miles of footpaths and an open field system meaning there are some great walking trails. Any private property will be marked, but much of it is free to explore. Look out for local produce for sale as you do. Roland picked up a few cucumbers after paying the honesty box.

As we look out from the top level of the Odeon Roland tells me, “Alderney has all the habitats of life, just in minutiae”.

I spend the rest of that afternoon cycling from beach to beach alone. Settling on Braye Beach for a nap in the sun – followed by a quick swim to wake me up. As I watch the children playing in the sea I think what a wonderful childhood they don’t even know they have.

Evening entertainment, Alderney style 

After an epic 7-course meal at The Blonde Hedgehog I wander down to Platte Saline Beach for the sunset. The best place to watch the sunset in Alderney is actually up at Fort Torgis so Alex – the Blonde Hedgehog’s front of house – tells me, but with all the adventure that day I just wanted the closest.

At 10pm it was time for my Bat and Hedgehog Walk with Roland.

First stop was to find the bats. Roland handed me a device that detects the eco location of the bats, and the species (for the trained ear).

“They’re a bit broken from kids dropping them”, he told me. The warning echoed in my brain as I accidentally dropped it on the ground a mere two minutes later. 

Totally clueless I pointed it to the sky as if a wizard’s wand. It didn’t take long to hear the clicks of one of Alderney’s 13 bat species – it was amazing to think of them flying above us.

I stepped cautiously, given that hundreds of hedgehogs were currently out and about in the dark. We soon spotted our first of about 10 of the iconic blondes. Watching their little legs waddle away from us was so cute, and the perfect end to the day.

Tennis and padel in Alderney 

After a bountiful salmon breakfast enjoyed with the sun filtering through the windows at the hotel, and the sound of Jack Johnson and David Gray permeating the dining room, I was off to see the Alderney Tennis and Padel Club.

The new padel courts have increased the Tennis Club’s membership from eight people to over 250. All ages get together to play.

On my visit some teenage boys had come over from Jersey and the owner Edward’s brother Guy was encouraging them: “Look like you want to play the game, not like you just got out of bed” he bellowed.

I hadn’t played tennis for years, but managed to hit it from the off. Apparently this is one of the reason for the sport’s success – even I can do it. 

One of the members Sarah tells me “We had a whole festival on at the weekend and had some amazing padellers. We were in awe watching it. The speed was incredible”. 

Massage on Alderney

My Alderney yoga teacher Natalie is also a masseuse, and rents a treatment room at the tennis club. After my padel session I enjoyed a Thai style massage with her expertise. She kneaded out a few more of those knots in my back.

We went for a coffee at Jack’s Cafe and Bistro after and she reiterated what I’d been told by others on the island. How the safety of the island was hard to beat.

“You can leave your doors open and the keys in the ignition”.

Alderney is an idyllic paradise where kids can walk home from school and still find their own adventures in the safety of community. Even during my three days there, people said hi to me in the street. That doesn’t happen in Portsmouth – I barely know my neighbours. 

Yet I was also warned repeatedly of the difficulties in getting to the island – the cost and the weather thwart many. Some holidaymakers find the relaxed island life hard to deal with, especially the delays and cancellations. But, when you get here it’s worth it.

Although, “You won’t be able to get Mozzarella on a random Tuesday,” was one of my favourite warnings about life on the island.  

Visiting Alderney

It was time to leave, and my flight was showing a 30-minute delay. Tracey gave me a flaked salmon and avocado salad from The Blonde Hedgehog chefs and some of their delicious coffee cake to eat at the airport to pass the time.

It was a wonderful idea as after check in I sat on the picnic benches outside in the stillness. Then, my flight was called – on time.

We were ushered into the tiny boarding area, to watch the safety video. And then onto the 12-person plane.

Leaving was bittersweet. Visiting Alderney had been both a wild adventure and calm retreat in one perfectly compact, three-day escape.

If it’s good enough for the sublime Julie Andrews, it’s good enough for me. With no film career or legendary author to buy me a house, it looks like I will be enjoying my slice of Alderney on holidays for years to come.