Camping on Sark

Camping just isn't camping without a decent view of the stars on a clear night and a slot-token shower unit. Which is what you can expect at La Valette campsite on the east side of the Isle of Sark - the smallest of the four main Channel Islands, about 80 miles off the English coast and about as far from city lights as you can get in the UK...

The sea, there's fresh produce available from the farm and the four minutes of hot water for the shower comes courtesy of a solar thermal unit and a £1 token. Cars aren't allowed on the island, but though it's only three miles long and a mile and a half wide, you need a bike to explore all the coves and bays over a long weekend, else you can hire a horse and carriage.  The award-winning La Sablonnerie Hotel on Little Sark is connected to the island by a dramatic steep-sided isthmus. After an evening at the restaurant, I had a magical trip back to the campsite over the narrow strip of land guided by the light of the moon.

  · A night at La Valette costs £6.50pp (sercq.com, 01481 832202). Weymouth-Guernsey ferry £39.50 one way as a foot passenger (condorferries.co.uk). Ferry to Sarkcosts £22 return (sarkshipping.info). 

This article, by Richard Hammond, was first published in the Guardian

Photo © Richard Hammond.