Jersey Island Geopark

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Jersey Island Geopark Aspiring UNESCO Geopark. Celebrating our unique geology, cultural heritage, landscapes & seascapes.

🪨 Welcome to the School of Rock! 🪨 Happy ! Jersey’s rocks tell an incredible story, from ancient volcanoes to granite ...
06/10/2026

🪨 Welcome to the School of Rock! 🪨

Happy !

Jersey’s rocks tell an incredible story, from ancient volcanoes to granite cliffs and Ice Age shores, and we love sharing it.

Last week, we took that story across the water to Guernsey for the 26th Inter-Island Environment Meeting, where experts and organisations from across the islands, UK and France came together around the theme Nature for the Next Generation.

Paul Chambers, Head of Geopark, and Meg Newstead, Education & Engagement Officer, shared how we’re helping islanders of all ages discover Jersey’s geology through schools outreach, rock boxes, Geowalks and excursions.

Because inspiring the next generation starts with understanding the ground beneath our feet. 🌍

And that’s at the heart of our journey towards status.

A big thank you to Guernsey Nature Commission for hosting — and to everyone who follows, asks questions, shares our posts and gets curious about the island beneath us. You’re a big part of this journey.

What would you like to learn about Jersey’s geology next? Drop your ideas in the comments and we’ll bring them to life in future posts!💭

04/10/2026

Imagine your husband says “let’s move to a rock in the middle of the sea…” 🦞👑

In 1848, Philippe Pinel from St John gave up life at sea and settled on La Blanche Île at Les Écréhous. He built two rough stone huts, collected rainwater to drink, baked his own bread, kept chickens, and lived off the fish, seaweed and gull eggs around him.

His wife, Jeanne, gave it a go, but she eventually left on a visiting yacht and never looked back. Great acting by Ellyshia from the Seafaris team 😉

Philippe stayed. In 1863 a visiting party crowned him “King of the Écréhous” in a three-day celebration that was, by all accounts, very well lubricated. His fame even caught the eye of Queen Victoria. 👑

He reigned over his reef for nearly half a century, until fishermen found him unwell in 1896 and brought him back to Jersey, against his wishes.

Huge thanks to our partner for taking us out to Les Écréhous, one of the wildest corners of the Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark.

If you’d like to explore Philippe’s kingdom for yourself, there’s still time to head out this year.

02/10/2026

POV: you’ve just been invited on a dig at La Hougue Bie ⛏️

You might be familiar with La Hougue Bie recognised as a Neolithic passage grave and one of the 10 oldest buildings in the world (4000–3500 BC). But today Meg’s on an adventure in the field opposite. Because 6,000 years ago is just the top layer.

Follow along for the full story 👀

29/09/2026

🌍 From a small island to a European network

Last week, Megan Newstead, Jonathan Carter, Sarah Buckingham and Paul Chambers represented the Jersey Island Geopark at the European Geoparks Network Conference in Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark, Finland 🇫🇮

Every geopark is unique, but the shared values across the network stood out. Remote islands, coastal communities, mountain ranges and volcanic landscapes are all working towards the same goal: helping people connect with the places they call home through education, conservation and storytelling.

As an aspiring Geopark, we left inspired. Geology can be the foundation for so much more: education, local culture, stronger communities, wellbeing, sustainable tourism and a deeper love of the environment. Each geopark takes its own route to get there.

Jersey may be a small island, but this conference reminded us that we’re part of a much bigger community connecting landscapes, heritage and people across Europe and beyond 💚

A huge thank you to and the European Geoparks Network for such a welcoming and inspiring event.

Jersey’s landscape took 630 million years to create. The opportunity to help shape its next chapter is happening now. 🪨🌍...
28/09/2026

Jersey’s landscape took 630 million years to create.
The opportunity to help shape its next chapter is happening now. 🪨🌍

We’re inviting a small group of pioneering Jersey businesses to become Founding Changemakers — as we work towards UNESCO Global Geopark status.
Four levels of involvement, from supporting a single school Geowalk to backing our flagship St Catherine’s Timeline project.

Swipe through to see where your business fits → then DM us “CHANGEMAKER” and we’ll send the full Sponsor Pack.

24/09/2026

Havre De Pas is known for its military history, but there’s a war frozen into the rock at Le Dicq. 🪨

Look at the granite here and you’ll see thin, pale veins cutting straight across it — almost like cracks that got filled in with a different rock entirely. That’s exactly what happened. After the coarse granite here had mostly solidified, one last squeeze of leftover magma, thinner, faster-cooling, forced its way into every crack it could find, cutting clean lines through crystals that had already been sitting there for who knows how long. That finer rock is called aplogranite.
It happened underground, under pressure, long before there was a slipway, a sea wall, or anyone waiting on a takeaway order to notice the rock under their feet.

Next time you’re at Le Dicq, take a look left of the slip before you grab a table . 👀🍜

You’re standing on 600 million years of history every time you hit the beach. 🪨Next time you’re beachcombing, look close...
17/09/2026

You’re standing on 600 million years of history every time you hit the beach. 🪨

Next time you’re beachcombing, look closer, the pebbles under your feet are all unique. Some are Jersey’s oldest rock, some are volcanic, and some washed up from elsewhere long before there was an island called Jersey.

Swipe through to spot each one →

Found a weird one on your last walk? 🕵️ Snap it, tag us or drop it in the comments. We’d love to see what you’ve discovered (and we’ll help you ID it 👀).

12/09/2026

Geology and history often cross paths.🪨🌋🏰

Once an active volcano, over 530 million years ago. Fast forward to the 1830s, and that same headland provided a natural defence point.

Fort Leicester on one side of the bay, L’Étacquerel on the other, built to catch any French invasion in crossfire. Then WWII happened, and the occupying German forces added searchlights and gun emplacements of their own.

Nearly 200 years of paranoia, upgrades, and standoffs that never actually kicked off... and today?

You can book a night here with . Real bed, real fort, same clifftop lookout that generations of militia stared out from – except now there’s nothing to watch for but the sunrise with a morning coffee.☕️🌅

04/09/2026

Plot twist: this rock has hosted more drama than most reality TV.

Meet the Rock of the Exiles.

In 1852, Victor Hugo, literary superstar and Napoleon III’s least favourite person in France, washed up on Jersey after basically telling the new emperor “over my dead body.” Once settled, he did what any self-respecting banished genius would do: brood dramatically on a rock, staring out at the France that exiled him.

In 1853, his son photographed him there - unmoving, gazing to sea like the main character he believed he was.

Hugo mailed the print to a friend with the caption of all captions: “I will remain in exile, as I wish to remain standing.” That photo now lives in the Musée d’Orsay.

Best part: the rock is real, and it’s still standing on our east coast.

Discover it for yourself. Bring main character energy. Be inspired.

31/08/2026

⏳ Less than two weeks to go!

Have you signed up for the Castle Chase yet?

Grab a teammate and take on this two-person, two-mile relay: race from West Park to Elizabeth Castle and back, against the clock, at low tide.

📅 12.30,11 September 2026
💷 £30 per team of two
🏆 £100 voucher per person for the winning pair in Men’s, Women’s and Mixed categories
❤️ Supporting Jersey Heritage
✅ Open to over-18s in good health

Every entry helps fund Jersey Heritage’s work protecting the Island’s history - so sign up, rally a teammate, and race for a good cause.

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