MARMOTIER (OR MARMOUTIER, THE MONASTERY OF THE SEA)

This small island of 150 meters long by 80 meters wide, has a dozen houses huddled together. These houses are not inhabited all year round. They are used as a refuge for local fishermen and as a vacation spot for the inhabitants of Jersey when the weather is fine. One of them is even a family home of the famous British skipper of Hugo Boss Alex Thomson. Otherwise, an ancient and modest monastery probably depended on Mont-Saint-Michel, just like the churches or chapels of Guernsey. Moreover, there is, near Tours, in the Val-de-Loire, an ancient monastery founded by Saint Martin in 372, the abbey of Marmoutiers, of which only the remains remain. Is there a connection? On the "square" of Marmotier, there is a granite lintel with the inscription "Saint Martin de Jersey" and the date 1882. On the opposite wall, a white wall, there is a red and white buoy and a granite coat of arms. This is the Customs House. A house on which flies the Union Jack, the English flag. A large marine pit serves as a mooring for boats, and mooring buoys are arranged there. At low tide, huge sandbanks and pebbles extend as far as the eye can see. Nearby is the islet of Pommère, which appears at low tide on a field of pebbles. Les Ecréhous is a truly timeless spot. To be seen during a trip from Jersey.