I am writing this post in a guest house at St Peter Port on the island of Guernsey. I am on a family holiday the centrepiece of which is a few days in Fort Clonque on the island of Alderney. We have time on Guernsey either side of that due to the fact the only ferries we could book were one going out of Portsmouth yesterday morning and one returning to Poole a week today. Just for the record these ferries are run by Condor, which is not part of the Pathetic & Obnoxious Group (P&O for short) who are currently treating their employees so atrociously.
KING’S LYNN TO PORTSMOUTH
Owing to the amount of stuff she and my nephew were taking my sister drove from King’s Lynn to Portsmouth, then took her car to Poole ready for the return journey before getting a train back to Portsmouth. I travelled by train (I had intended to do the same for the return journey from Poole before change in ferry times nixed that idea, so I will be a passenger in her car for the return journey). I got the 13:44 from Lynn to London which ran to time, giving me just under an hour to get from King’s Cross to Waterloo for the train to Poole, far more time than needed for that journey. I elected to take the Victoria line to Oxford Circus and then the Bakerloo line to Waterloo, deciding that although changing to the Jubilee at Green Park was quicker in terms of time spent on trains that difference would be more than accounted for by the difference between the cross-platform hop at Oxford Circus and the long interchange at Green Park, especially given the weight of my bags.
I arrived at Waterloo half an hour before my train to Portsmouth was due to depart, and had to wait for the platform to be confirmed. The train arrived in Portsmouth on time, and I made my way to the Travelodge, about three minutes walk from Portsmouth and Southsea station, where my sister my nephew and I were booked into a three bed room for the night.
PORTSMOUTH TO GUERNSEY
Originally our ferry was supposed to set out at 9AM, which would have meant being at the terminal by 8AM (Guernsey is a ‘crown dependency’, not part of Britain, so this is officially an international journey), but a delay meant that check was not until 9:30AM. Once we got underway it was smooth sailing – there were a few small waves in evidence in the open sea but it was never remotely rough.
We arrived into St Peter Port just after 5PM, and were established at our guest house an hour later.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
aspiblog 
We spent five days based in SPP last September so I’ll be interested to hear what you make of it.
Clive
Glad it was a relatively unproblematic journey Thomas . What a Lovely place to be staying, hope you all enjoy it
I did not know whether I would smile or growl at the Pathetic and Obnoxious.
Customer service ambivalence I suppose!
Hoping the people at Condor treat their people and customers well.
Some really awesome pictures – especially of Portsmouth and of the ferries.
[and some of the things which happened leading up to Portsmouth].
And I hope to always remember – “The sea is for fish – don’t confuse the two”.
***Once we got underway it was smooth sailing – there were a few small waves in evidence in the open sea but it was never remotely rough.***
That for me is a big relief.
Was that a picture of Victor Hugo? A soldier? [asking about the statue].
And I saw the map had references in Guerniaise.
[when I google this spelling it seems to be only in reference to the historical society].
Yes – guest houses are very much all their own.
Hope your sister and nephew have a wonderful time too.
Those people who love stamps and maps.
Duke of Richmond connection?
So there’s a church in Town.
[I can place most things from Candie and Cambridge Parks and even George Esplanade].
Seemed fairly drizzle-some from the pictures. If I had sense I would check the Guernsey Press and its weather.
Thank you for your comments. Everyone has had a good time. I think the statue you are referring to is of Prince Albert, who visited Guernsey. The then Duke of Richmond carried out a detailed survey of Guernsey about 200 years ago.
Thank you Thomas.
I will check the Albert statue myself one of these times.
Albert = Duke of Richmond?
[I can never ever keep my Peers straight – nor even members of the Royal Family].
Albert was the Prince Consort – the Duke of Richmond visited Guernsey several decades earlier.
Now that gives more of a sense of history.
And I understood slightly better when I saw the second post about the Channel Islands which had the statue in it and more.