Raz Island from Longis, Alderney

Raz Island (Ile de Raz) seen from Longis Bay, Alderney.

Longis is my favourite Alderney beach. Here I came as a child to help my father plunder the rocks for ragworm with a sawn-off pickaxe. I look back on our destruction of this remarkable littoral zone with considerable anger and guilt. The rockpools here, particularly the deeper pools on the eastern side of the beach, are extraordinary. Full of life and unusual creatures, they are fed by the Race of Alderney, a fierce current between Alderney and France.

A tidal causeway connects Fort Raz to the rest of Alderney. I remember those frightening occasions when forgetful of the time, I had to walk back over the causeway ankle-deep in a rising tide, the strength of the current already making itself known. To an observer on the beach, it would have looked as if I was walking on water.

A massive concrete anti-tank structure surrounds Longis bay, a legacy of the German occupation during the WW2. The British built the fort itself during the Napoleonic period to house ten guns and a contingent of 64 men. No doubt it was an isolated and unpopular posting. After German use in the occupation, the fort was used as a restaurant. Oyster beds were started in the lee of the causeway. Nowadays the fort is derelict, and that is probably its best fate.

The sand here is fine, tightly packed, and speckled with the casts of lugworms. Painting this brought back to mind the sucking drag of wet sand against my gumboots and the tang of seaweed.

Some other views of Alderney include my paintings of Chateau a L’Etoc and Les Etacs from Clonque.