Herm: white-sand beaches, quiet paths and an ever-changing shoreline

A small island with two different coasts

For its size, Herm’s coast changes character sharply from one side to the other. The north and east are low and sandy, with pale beaches and low, open common land, and the clear water along the north and east draws swimmers and walkers. Shell Beach stretches along much of the east coast, with the smaller cove of Belvoir Bay tucked below it.

The south and west are rockier, with low cliffs, the harbour and wide views back to Guernsey and across to Jethou. At low water the sea draws back to expose rocks, pools and additional stretches of sand around the island and the smaller islets nearby, opening up much more shore than there is at high tide.

Beaches and the tide

Herm’s beaches are one of the main reasons people visit, and each changes with the tide, the wind and the swell.

Herm and the tide

The live times on this page come from St Peter Port, the nearest prediction station included in our licensed data. They give a useful indication of the tidal cycle around Herm, but they are St Peter Port predictions rather than a separate forecast for Herm Harbour. St Peter Port is only a few miles away, but local water levels and conditions at Herm can still differ from the prediction shown, so do not use these times alone for navigation.

The rise and fall here is large: the tidal range in this part of the Channel Islands can approach ten metres between high and low water on the biggest tides. As the sea falls, Herm’s beaches broaden and rocks, pools and further stretches of sand emerge around Herm, Jethou and the smaller islets. The rising tide covers them again, and can affect whether passenger boats use Herm Harbour or Rosaire Steps.

Walking around Herm

A path runs right around the coast, and walking the circuit is the classic way to see the island. Most people manage it in a couple of hours, plus time on the beaches. The going is a mix of sandy and grassy paths, with some steps, uneven ground and exposed common in the north, so sensible footwear helps.

Wildlife and the Ramsar site

Herm, its neighbour Jethou and the rocks and islets around them form part of a wetland of international importance. Designated in October 2015, the Ramsar site takes in the two islands, nine rocky islets including Grande Fauconnière, Crevichon and Brehon Tower, six sandbanks known as the Humps, and the surrounding shallow tidal waters. Its habitats include seagrass, maerl beds, reefs and important feeding and breeding areas for fish, seabirds and marine mammals.

Almost 100 bird species have been recorded on Herm. Puffins can sometimes be seen in the waters off the south-east coast during spring and early summer, while dark-bellied brent geese overwinter in the area after migrating from the Arctic. Curlews, oystercatchers and cormorants are among the other birds found around the island, and Atlantic grey seals use the wider reef system.

Yellow marker buoys off Puffin Bay identify waters where puffins may gather on the surface. The Channel Islands Ramsar code of conduct asks boat users to travel slowly near the coast, to keep their distance from wildlife, and not to land on the Humps between 1 January and 31 July; Brehon Tower should not be landed on at any time. Check the current code before visiting by boat or kayak.

Official guidance: Ramsar: Herm, Jethou and The Humps · Channel Islands Ramsar code of conduct · States of Guernsey: Herm puffin-awareness buoys

The Common, ancient tombs and St Tugual’s Chapel

The open Common at the northern end of the island holds prehistoric chamber tombs and other archaeological remains, showing that people used Herm thousands of years ago. Finds from the island point to activity during both the Neolithic and Bronze Age, with much of the surviving prehistoric landscape concentrated at the northern end.

Near the centre of the island stands St Tugual’s Chapel, dedicated to St Tugual, a sixth-century Celtic saint. Tradition associates him or his followers with Herm, although the details of that early connection are uncertain. The chapel is first recorded in 1251, and much of the surviving structure is medieval, though it has been altered and restored over the centuries, including after the Wood family took on the island in 1949. It is still used today.

A short history

People have been on Herm since prehistory, leaving tombs on the Common. Herm was associated with religious communities during the medieval period, and St Tugual’s Chapel remains the clearest surviving link with that history. Between 1570 and 1737 the governors of Guernsey used Herm as a private hunting ground.

In the nineteenth century it became a granite-quarrying island, with around 400 quarrymen at its peak. Herm’s official history records that its granite was supplied for maintenance work on London Bridge and for the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral. German forces occupied Herm, like the rest of the bailiwick, from 1940 until the end of the occupation in May 1945. In 1949 Peter and Jenny Wood took on the lease and began repairing the buildings and developing the island for residents and visitors. Today Herm is leased from the States of Guernsey and run as a visitor island.