Herm is one of the smaller Channel Islands, being just over
a mile long from north to south and about half a mile across at its widest
point. It lies to the east of Guernsey, from where it can be reached via a 20
minute ferry crossing.
The island has been occupied for at least 5,000 years, as is
evidenced by a large number of Neolithic tombs and artefacts such as tools and
weapons. It is known that Roman traders visited the island about 2,000 years
ago.
During the 6th century, Herm was a place of
meditation for monks from Jersey and Sark, who built a small chapel here. By
the 10th century, Herm was ruled by the Dukes of Normandy and
eventually came under the control of the Abbey of Mont St Michel. From 1204
Herm, along with the rest of the Channel Islands, came under the control of the
English crown.
In the 19th century, granite quarries were
established on the island and a large community infrastructure was established
to support the 400 or so quarrymen and their families. Until the 1880s, Herm
granite was very much in demand, and it was exported to England for use in the
building of roads and bridges. However, the quarries later fell into disuse.
During World War II, Herm, along with the rest of the
Channel Islands, was occupied by German forces. It was liberated in 1945, and
from 1949 it was leased to the Wood family, who now manage Herm and seek to preserve
the island’s beauty while improving facilities for visitors, of whom thousands
visit every year.
Despite its small size, Herm has a variety of natural
habitats, including sand dunes, maritime Heath, grassland and woodland, as well
as sandy beaches, rock pools and steep granite cliffs.
Herm is very popular with bird lovers. Its resident birds
include robins, wrens, blackbirds, thrushes, kestrels and long-eared owls, as
well as seabirds. It is also visited by many migrants on their passage from
southern Europe and North Africa towards the British Isles in the spring. These
include whitethroats, willow warblers and whinchats.
Herm’s many natural habitats support over 450 different
plant species. During summer the island is ablaze with bright yellow gorse and
clifftop flowers such as sea and red campion, heather and foxglove. The flat
northern part of the island is covered in rockrose and many other tiny flowers,
while the sand dunes that fringe the shoreline have been planted with marram grass
in an attempt to halt erosion.
Herm is traffic-free, apart from a few farm tractors. Walkers
can enjoy seeing the island from the tracks that cross the island from north to
south and east to west, and the path, about four miles long, that goes round
the entire coast.
Visitors can stay at the White House Hotel on the island, or
in one of the self-catering cottages and apartments. There is also a campsite.
© John Welford
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