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Cycle Route
St. Lawrence encapsulates so much that is rural in the island. In the quiet, tree lined lanes of the parish, it is so peaceful that you could forget where you are.
[we catch up with Arthur as he approaches Handois Reservoir]
...after 200 yards turn left into la Fraide Rue. Pass the shooting range on the right and proceed on to the next junction, where we turn left into la Rue es Gazeaux. This lane leads us down to the head of Handois Reservoir.
The lane runs parallel to a stream that has escaped the reservoir. Following the stream we weave our way through this tiny valley. At the next yellow line, turn right and climb la Rue de Bas. As we cycle up avoid the lane on the right and, at the yellow line at the top, turn left. The road dips and we draw level with Hamptonne, the living farm museum, on the left.
Hamptonne is another jewel of Jersey's heritage which, fortunately, was purchased by the National Trust for Jersey in 1987, with assistance from the States of Jersey. As well as having 17th, 18th and 19th century buildings on the site, the farm is also of some historical importance. Lauren Hamptonne, who bought the property in 1637, was a friend of Charles ll. In fact it was he who proclaimed Charles ll king in the Royal Square, after hearing of Charles l's execution. In 1649, Charles granted Letters Patente to the property, which means that the property could never be divided, and the owners could attend the Assize d'Heritage with the seigneurs. Due to this, the property is also often known as La Patente, and the road it stands in is called Rue de la Patente. If we stop to visit, we can lock our bikes to the rings set in the wall. They are really for tethering cows, but serve equally well for bikes. Leave Hamptonne and cycle up to the yellow line at the end of Rue de la Patente. By now we have cycled 7.12 miles.
Turn left into Chemin du Moulin. Before going too far, take a moment to inspect the square building on the right. This is a colombier. In it would live hundreds of pigeons. This particular colombier is unusual in two respects; firstly it is one of only two square colombiers in the island and secondly, when it was built in 1445, the owner of the land was not a seigneur. Only seigneurs or lords of the manor had the right to have a colombier. As we can deduce from the stone above the entrance, the colombier was rebuilt in 1674 by Lauren Hamptonne's son Edouard.
Regain the road and begin a brisk freewheel through Waterworks Valley. Miss a hill on the left, when the road bends right, and continue past another hill on the left and then a lane on the right. The reservoir on our left is Dannemarche Reservoir, built in 1909. Coast past as the road bends. At the next bend follow the road around to the right, avoiding two lanes on the left.
We will have lost most of our momentum by the time we pass the steep hill on the left and arrive at the last reservoir. This is Millbrook Reservoir, the first catchment area built in Jersey.
Text reproduced with kind permission of Arthur Lamy and Seaflower Books.
This book is available for purchase online.
This article updated: 2002/07/03 09:23:59
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| ......timelines...... |
| In February 1873 the Mercantile Union Bank failed. Four months later the Joint Stock Bank followed suit, leading to a major banking crisis. |
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