On the evening of the 17th May Guernsey’s historic Castle Cornet is joining other museums and sites all over the continent in welcoming the public for an evening of fun and learning!

The castle, which has guarded the harbour to Guernsey’s capital St Peter Port for over 800 years, is located just off the shore on an island connected to the land by a raised walkway. It is a key site for many visitors to the island with daily guided tours and children’s treasure hunts, and is home to the Maritime Museum, Light Infantry Museum, Militia Museum, 20 Squadron (RAF) Museum and the ‘Castle Cornet Story’ which charts the structure’s history from its building between 1206-1256, its time as residence for the Governor of Guernsey until 1672, and its role in WW2.

On the 17th May visitors can follow twilight tours of the Castle and its gardens with costumed characters, hear short specialist talks from curators and take a guided ‘German Tour of the Castle’. This tour will including the recently excavated tunnel area, and will show the shelters, gun emplacements and other structures within the castle.

A Castle Keeper will be on‐hand to give a talk about the Keeper’s work, including the recent redevelopment of the Castle’s award winning gardens. Museums Director Jason Monaghan will be presenting a talk on Roman Pottery where visitors can handle rare objects, and the archaeology team will be presenting an interactive talk on their work.

During the evening visitors can see ‘The Guernsey History In Action Company’ giving a live performance, listen to live early history themed music, while children will have the opportunity to take part in themed activities.

For those who would like to discover Tudor remedies for aches and pains, a 16 century Apothecary drop in clinic will be available where visitors will be shown how these ailments were cured using plants, flowers and other natural remedies. Or visitors can have a chance to ‘meet the medieval surgeon’ who will make you feel lucky you weren’t alive in the 1500’s – when he describes the extraordinary and gory methods and tools used during surgery in

the past.
 

Getting there

Guernsey is accessible from London Gatwick with Flybe (www.flybe.com) and from Gatwick and Stansted with Aurigny (www.aurigny.com) with prices starting at £77 and £74 respectively. Regular regional flights run from Manchester, East Midlands, Bristol, Southampton, Norwich and Birmingham. Condor Ferries runs regular services from Portsmouth (seven hour crossing) or Poole (three hour crossing) to the capital St. Peter Port in Guernsey. Return crossings start at £263 for a car with two adults and two children. For bookings visit: www.condorferries.co.uk.
 

A wide range of accommodation options can be found at http://www.visitguernsey.com/accommodation

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For further general information on Guernsey, please visit www.visitguernsey.com

For any press enquiries please contact Jules Ugo, Kate McWilliams or Amelia Astley Birtwistle on firstname@lotus-uk.co.uk or call the office on 0207 953 7470.