Britain's sunniest island — WWII bunkers, Jersey cows, and a serious food scene
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands and a self-governing British Crown Dependency that combines English and French culture in a small, sunny, extraordinarily beautiful package. The island has more sunshine hours than anywhere else in the British Isles, excellent seafood (Jersey crab, oysters, lobster), world-famous Jersey Royal new potatoes, and more than 25 kilometres of sandy beaches. The German Occupation (1940–45) left behind more than 600 fortifications and bunkers, now forming one of Europe's most intact WWII coastal defence networks. St. Helier's covered market and Liberation…
Jersey has been inhabited since Neolithic times — La Hougue Bie, a 6,000-year-old passage grave, is one of Europe's best-preserved megalithic monuments. The island was part of the Duchy of Normandy and became linked to England in 1066, remaining a Crown Dependency rather than part of the UK itself. The German Occupation from 1940–45 was the most traumatic period in modern history: 10,000 people were deported to concentration camps, Jersey Jews were persecuted, and forced labour built the Atlantic Wall fortifications. Liberation Day on 9 May remains the island's most important public holiday.