Jersey may sit just a short flight from Britain, but this tiny Channel Island has its own government, its own traditions and a character shaped by Norman history, wartime occupation and some of the largest tides in the world.

Daniel is joined by Malcolm Lewis, owner of Longueville Manor, to unlock an island of medieval castles, sweeping beaches, exceptional seafood and wonderfully unexpected local customs.

Malcolm explains why Jersey is a Crown Dependency rather than part of the United Kingdom, how its twelve parishes help govern island life, and why the monarch is still affectionately toasted as the Duke of Normandy.

They explore the castles and fortifications scattered across Jersey, from Mont Orgueil and Elizabeth Castle to the bunkers left by the German Occupation. Malcolm reflects on the hardship islanders endured between 1940 and 1945, and why Liberation Day on 9 May remains Jersey’s most important annual celebration.

The conversation also turns to Longueville Manor, the historic country house hotel Malcolm’s grandparents rescued from disrepair and opened in 1949. He shares the remarkable story of how a family dream became one of Jersey’s best-known hotels, complete with woodland walks, a Victorian kitchen garden, local wildlife and honey produced on the estate.

Food is never far away. Discover why Jersey’s enormous tidal range produces outstanding lobster, crab, oysters and hand-dived scallops, what makes Jersey milk so famously rich, and why early May is the perfect time to enjoy Jersey Royals.

Malcolm also reveals:

• His essential Jersey experience
• The island’s best season for a visit
• Why St Ouen’s Bay is ideal for surfing
• The restaurant mistake first-time visitors should avoid
• How to explore Jersey’s 15mph Green Lanes
• The detective series to watch before travelling
• The traditional Jersey souvenir made from a cabbage stalk

From Gerald Durrell’s pioneering conservation work at Jersey Zoo to afternoon tea with homemade jam and Jersey cream, this is your expert introduction to an island that feels reassuringly familiar while remaining entirely itself.

About Malcolm Lewis

Malcolm Lewis is the owner of Longueville Manor in St Saviour, Jersey. The hotel has been owned and managed by the Lewis family since 1949 and is known for its personal hospitality, historic setting, gardens and close relationship with Jersey’s local producers.

Useful links

Longueville Manor: https://www.longuevillemanor.com/

Visit Jersey: https://www.jersey.com/

Jersey Zoo and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust: https://www.durrell.org/

Destination Unlocked: https://destinationunlocked.com/

This is destination unlocked with me, Daniel Edward.

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Hi, welcome back to Destination Unlocked,

the Conversational Travel podcast where

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each week I'm joined by a different

local or expert traveller to unlock a

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part of the world that they know best.

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And this week we're going to a little

island in between France and the uk.

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It's one of the Channel

Islands and it's jersey.

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And we are going to be guided around

by the owner of the most gorgeous Manor

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house Hotel called Longville Manor.

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We're joined today by Malcolm Lewis.

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Enjoy.

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Malcolm, where are you

unlocking for us today?

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Malcolm Lewis: we're unlocking

the island of Jersey.

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the largest of the Channel Islands,

a group of islands only 12 miles

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off the coast of, Normandy, a

hundred miles south of Britain.

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very close to get to, very

much English speaking.

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and, it's a destination

which is quite unique.

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Daniel Edward: It is and it's

got a fascinating history.

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Malcolm Lewis: It's history is amazing.

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the island, all the channel islands

are technically the last remaining

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remnants of the old Dutchy of Normandy.

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And when we toast, at the end of a meal,

we would normally toast the monarch.

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king Charles, king Charles

effectively, our Duke of Normandy.

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So at the end of a meal, we'll raise

our glasses to the Duke, which is

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really extraordinary quirk of history.

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And it goes back to 10 66 and so on.

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And, how, the Normans, battled

with, with England and, are the,

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sort of, the remnants of all that.

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so quite a quirk in history, which

is fascinating and we love it.

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Daniel Edward: I think that's something

which touches on the confusion that a lot

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of people have with Jersey and Guernsey

and, the Channel Islands as a group, is

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that they're not the uk They are British

Isles, but they're not part of, but

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then people who are there have British

passports, but the Westminster government

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doesn't have any control what's going on.

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Malcolm Lewis: it is very bizarre.

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and it actually goes back to that

history, all those centuries ago.

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we are effectively a principality.

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We are part of Britain, but we're

not part of the United Kingdom.

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we were granted, autonomy in terms of

our political will, by King Charles, if I

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remember rightly, king Charles the first.

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and, since then, we've governed

ourselves and we've considered the

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monarch to be, as I say, arm monarch,

but effectively the Duke Normandy.

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And so we've had this peculiar

relationship with the uk and to this

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very day, we still have our autonomy.

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We have our own government, and we

self govern, to the extent that,

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we look after ourselves in every

respect except for our currency.

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we're, obviously linked to the

pound sterling, and to defence.

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we're inextricably linked to anything

to do with defence, of Britain.

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so it's quite a quirk.

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And, it's quite extraordinary because

we are a very small line, and we're a

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population of only 110, And we, have

a, very active political system here.

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it's a very parochial system.

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We have 12 parishes.

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Uh, the chief of each

parish is called a constable.

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And the 12 constables of the 12 parishes,

each sit in our state's chamber.

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So they're one of our 48 politicians.

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and then we have, another

subsection of politicians, who are

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the deputies, and they represent

the parishes in other respects.

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And then we have senators we have

14 senators, that, have an island

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wine mandate, uh, and are elected

by the island, in its entirety.

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So we, we have a quite a

peculiar, political system.

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It works very well.

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And, because it's such a small island

and because everybody sort of knows each

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other, we can be very reactive governments

tend to be very much like a slow train.

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Very difficult to start or stop.

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but here in Jersey we're small and

we all know each other and we can

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be very effective in terms of, one

minute management and directing the

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island in a way that is meaningful

and helpful for the population.

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Daniel Edward: So what's

life like on the island?

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Malcolm Lewis: Well, as I said,

we're a small island with 45

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square miles, 110,000 population.

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It's a very parochial system we have here.

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Everybody knows everybody else.

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We're almost too close at times.

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And I always say, if you're not

able to get off the island, , that

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can be quite problematic because

you've become so inward looking.

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And that could be quite difficult.

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I'm very fortunate I get

off the island quite a lot.

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So I do get to see the big wide world

and come back refreshed and then

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back to enjoy this parochial life.

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We have a saying here in Jersey, which

is, I've gotta be careful what I say

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because I don't wanna put my foot in it,

but we say that we don't have to lock our

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houses, 'cause we have so little crime.

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But in a way, that is a reflection

of what the island is like.

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We have very little crime.

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Everybody knows each other.

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Everybody's looking over each other's

shoulder and looking out for each other.

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And we will feel safe.

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And I think in terms of us being a

tourist destination, I think this

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is one of our great USPS is that we

are a very, very safe destination.

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And our tourists who come and

visit us, they actually feel that.

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They get a sense of this safety , and

this and the sense of wellbeing.

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Daniel Edward: Yeah, I visited

when I was a teenager, actually.

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That was my, first experience in Jersey.

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And you're absolutely right.

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It, it was a great place to go

as a family because it was safe.

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Malcolm Lewis: Yeah.

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and we are very much still

a family destination.

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Of course during summer holidays

in particular, the island is just

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full of families, young people,

and it is very much this whole

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sense of, the feeling of safety.

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and it's also accessibility.

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We're only a short hop, you know, three

quarters of an hour, from a London

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airport or half an hour from Southampton.

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there's no change of currency.

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and so far you need ID for the

airline, but you don't need passports.

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it's a very easy option and a safe option.

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And when you get onto the island, for

the families, there is so much to do.

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we have these wonderful beaches for

a start, which I, I consider to be

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some of the best beaches in the world.

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They're underrated because, everyone

talks about the most amazing

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beaches in the Caribbean and these

far-flung places, but close to home.

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on our island of Jersey, we

have the most stunning beaches.

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, We have the cleanest water as

well, because we have some of

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the highest tides in the world.

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We have 40 foot tides that come in and

out twice a day, washes our beaches.

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And we therefore have the, probably

the cleanest beaches in the world.

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Daniel Edward: my enduring memory of when

we went as a family was learning how to

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bodyboard and attempt to learn to surf.

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And it is, it's perfect for that.

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From memory, our holiday started in St.

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Hellier.

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Is that where everybody's holiday starts?

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Malcolm Lewis: Yeah, well, St Hellier

is the capital of the island, and we do

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have some fantastic hotels in St Hellier.

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And some of 'em are very much

family orientated, but there are

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other hotels, outside of the town.

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As I say, it is a 45 square mile

island, so you haven't got to go far

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to find a hotel that's out of town.

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But in a way, yeah, everything sort of

starts from St Hellier and moves out . You

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mentioned surfing, and we've got this

fantastic beach on the west coast of our

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island course at Ws Bay, which is renowned

internationally for its amazing surf,

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it's looked after by the RNLI lifeguards.

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So it's a very safe area for families.

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It's a very safe area for surfers,

in spite of the fact that it has on

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occasions, very, very large waves

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. And there are, I think we have four

surf schools, on that one beach.

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So there's no shortage of surf schools

to actually learn from scratch how to

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surf especially in the summer when we're

having amazing weather, the beach is

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busy and the surf schools are all packed.

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It's a family destination without a doubt.

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Daniel Edward: And being outdoors

is a big part of it, not just

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on the beaches, but I remember

beautiful walks and amazing castles.

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Malcolm Lewis: Yeah, we

have amazing castles.

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On the East Coast, we have Monte Gay

castle, otherwise known as Gory Castle.

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It's a beautiful old mediaeval

castle that looks over the bay

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of Grl and has fantastic views

overlooking the French Coast.

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And then we have Elizabeth

Castle, which is in the Bay of St.

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Tobin.

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And again, it has these fantastic views

across the bay and during a high tide,

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elizabeth Castle becomes an island and

is only accessible by what we call ducks.

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Amphibious sort of buses that

go on land and then on the sea.

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And that's fun as well.

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Great fun to travel on one of those.

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We also have a lot of smaller relics from

years gone by, from centuries gone by.

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We have grown a castle,

which is 750 800 years old.

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It's a ruin, on the northwest coast

of the island and it's a reminder of

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the fact that this island has for a

thousand years been so important in

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terms of strategic military issues.

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So for all those centuries, castles have

been springing up all over the place.

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And of course, more recently, during

the German occupation, because the

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island was occupied by the Germans

during the Second World War, the

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Germans built a considerable number of

fortifications and bunkers and so on.

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And a lot of those old bunkers

and fortifications have now

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been turned into museums.

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And they're a stark reminder of

what was a terrible part , a very

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dark part , of Jersey's history.

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But it's also now, so many years on an

opportunity for us to remember that those

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dark days must never ever happen again.

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And these relics are fascinating

to see and a sharp reminder of some

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of the difficult times that this

island has faced over the years.

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The island is nothing but a

massive fortification actually.

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It's fascinating.

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And all these museums that support

these old fortifications , whether

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it's for children or for adults,

there's something for everybody.

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Daniel Edward: And it was the only

part of, Britain in its, wider

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form that was occupied by the,

Germans during the second World War.

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Malcolm Lewis: That's correct.

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with The Channel Islands in their

entirety were occupied by the Germans.

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And the Germans considered the Channel

Islands, from a strategic point of

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view, extremely important because they

were building this defensive wall, the

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Atlantic wall all the way from the north

of Norway down to Spain, and the Channel

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Islands, situated in the Bay of Saint

Marlow, was an opportunity for them to

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not have to build the wall along that

part of the Normandy coast and that

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North Britney coast because the Channel

Islands themselves became the defence

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systems, to protect that part of France.

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They were a very important

strategic issue for the Germans.

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And of course it was at

the mouth of the channel.

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And obviously the Atlantic

traffic, marine traffic , was

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a massive issue during the war.

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And, the Channel Island sat there

beautifully for the Germans to help with

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their objectives in dealing with allied

maritime traffic crossing the Atlantic.

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The island was actually bombed

prior to the occupation.

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It wasn't intensively bombed,

but it was bombed all the same.

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And it was sort of the prelude

to the invasion itself.

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So in a way, it was an easy

option for the Germans to just

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simply take over these islands.

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the population surrendered quite quickly.

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We didn't have a military

force of any description that

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could battle against them.

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So they gave up and the

consequence of that was they

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suffered five years of occupation.

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Lots of stories came out of that

occupation, about the difficulties

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that the population faced.

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Eventually starvation became

a massive issue because the

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island simply ran out of food.

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And it was not only the islanders who

ran out of food, but the German troops

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themselves were suffering shortages of

food and towards, particular, towards

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the end of the occupation, 19 44, 19 45.

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So there were all sorts of

stories about having to improvise

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from a food point of view.

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And of course, the seashore was

obviously a big source of food and

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particular seaweeds , and obviously

fishing as well was a massive thing.

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And then the Germans needed

a huge amount of timber.

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And one of the quirky things that

happened during the occupation

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was that they planted thousands

and thousands of Sycamore trees.

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And the sycamore tree to this day is

now an indigenous tree of the island.

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They're fast growing trees and they've

planted thousands of these trees so

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that in a short few years, they'd

be able to fell the trees and use

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the timber for building works and

helping build the fortifications.

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A lot of quirky things happened

but it was a very, very difficult

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time for the population.

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If you can imagine to lose your freedom

for five years and stuck in an island,

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five miles by nine, was very, very hard.

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But the island survived and

the population survived.

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And, you know, looking back, those folk

that are still alive today and have those

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memories, they're fiercely proud of what

happened and how they survived that.

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They all have amazing stories to tell.

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And every year we celebrate our

liberation on May the ninth.

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It is a national holiday for the island,

for the islands actually, 'cause all the

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islands Guernsey and Jersey, celebrate

May the ninth as our liberation day.

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We take it as a bank holiday

and we celebrate this wonderful

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freedom that we enjoy today.

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Daniel Edward: Is it worth being

in Jersey on the Liberation Day?

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is that a highlight of the year then?

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Malcolm Lewis: Absolutely . Yeah.

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It's a highlight.

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It turns into a massive party there

are the formalities that happen

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during the morning where there's

the service of remembrance.

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And they do a reenactment of when the

union Jack was raised on the Podo Hotel,

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overlooking what is now Liberation Square,

which is very close to the harbour.

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So there's a very serious side to it.

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And, the whole island

comes to a standstill.

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If they don't go to the event itself,

you know, we're listening on the

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radio, watching on telly or whatever.

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And then the rest of the

day is a massive party.

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It's a bank holiday.

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There are lots of activities and

sporting activities and all sorts

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of things going on in the afternoon

and the evenings . It'll be a day

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of remembrance, I think forever.

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it's become our national holiday.

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We'll never forget the

occupation and it's very special.

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Daniel Edward: What's your family's

story in Jersey because you've

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been in Jersey for generations.

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Malcolm Lewis: Longueville Manor

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So many quirks actually, not only

on this island, but my family.

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My grandfather was a fanatical

motorcyclist and he would go to

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the Isle of Man, actually, and

enjoy the antics of motorcycling

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there and the TT race and so on.

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And, after the occupation of

Jersey, he was fascinated about

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the story of this island of Jersey.

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He and his wife, my grandmother,

were publicans and they had this

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pub, in she little village, not far

from su coalfield in the Midlands.

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And my grandmother had this dream of one

day having this sort of hotel somewhere,

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this inn somewhere, or larger pub.

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And my grandfather, just

wanted a motorcycle.

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So him and a couple of chums decided

one day to go and discover this quirky

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island that had just been liberated.

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And in 1947, came over on their

motorbikes, came to the island.

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And, he immediately realised that

this could be the place for his wife,

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my grandmother, to set up a hotel.

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Went back to Shenton and had

a chat with my grandmother.

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And they decided they were going back

to Jersey and try and find a property.

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So they found eventually Longville Manor,

which was a derelict old manor house.

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It was a private house, but it

was in a very sad state of repair.

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And they thought, well, this is it.

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They immediately saw that there was a

potential for magic, this old building.

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And, they went through the

process of purchasing it and

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converting it into a small hotel.

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it had 12 bedrooms and one, bathroom.

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In those days, everybody

shared bathrooms in hotels.

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And at that time, my father was about to

start university, studying engineering,

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and my grandparents asked my father

to put his education on hold and to

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come to Jersey and help set up this

small hotel and then after a year or

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so, he go back and do his university.

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So my father came over, helped

set up the hotel, and on the 30th

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of July, 1949, Longueville Manor,

opened as a hotel for the first time.

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And, my father never left.

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And then eventually he

met my mother and so on.

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That's another story in itself.

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The property has been a hotel

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And then eventually I joined in

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So we're very much a family business

, it's now my wife and myself who run

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the business, and own the property.

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And we love it to bits

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. It's a labour of love and,

we've got kids who might be

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interested in taking over one day.

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As it happens, my son from my

first marriage, David, joined

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the business 15 years ago.

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He was never interested in hospitality,

but he was very much a horticulturalist.

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And, he is in charge of our gardens,

our estate, and our woodlands

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and also certain amount of the

maintenance within the hotel itself.

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I have a son who's just

finished university.

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I have a daughter who finished a

hotel business school in Switzerland

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as it happened just over a year ago.

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She's working in London,

who knows what might happen.

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But for the time being Patricia, my

wife and I, we carry on with this legacy

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and we're loving every minute of it.

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Daniel Edward: Well, they say the

best place to go for hospitality

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education is Switzerland, so

she went to the right place.

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Malcolm Lewis: Yeah, she

had a great time there.

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If you wanna study hospitality

and businesses or hospitality in

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particular, then there's only one

place you're gonna do it and that's

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gotta be one of the best places.

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That was the deal.

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Daniel Edward: I think your son, David's

got a good one because, the gardens

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at Longueville manor are spectacular.

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And of course you use them in the cooking.

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Malcolm Lewis: Absolutely.

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Well, I always say I think David's got

the dream job, and when I come back

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the next time if I could do what he's

doing, I'd be the happiest person.

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We've got these beautiful gardens,

which he just tends with loving care.

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But we also had this amazing old Victorian

kitchen garden, which we renovated in

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the early 1990s, and brought it back to

life and when David joined us 15 years

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ago, he really picked up this kitchen

garden and turned it from a fairly

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productive, sort of loved area into

something that is absolutely amazing now.

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And it produces huge amounts

of produce for us during the

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summer season in particular.

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It's also a wonderful area for our

guests to go and walk and enjoy.

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I go in there sometimes, just

to clear the head and get a

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little bit of peace and quiet.

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It's quite beautiful.

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And then of course, on top of that, 17

acres of woodland and wonderful valley

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that extends behind the property.

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And we encourage our guests to go

on these lovely woodland walks.

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It's a magical place and, and

we're fiercely in love with it.

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We have a bit of a sustainability

project, called New Leaf.

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It's obviously about saving energy

and all the things that we need

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to do to be more sustainable.

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Our kitchen garden, for example, we're not

registered organic, but we don't use any

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chemicals, of any description whatsoever.

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And our woodland, we've just been

through processes of trying to bring

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back things like the barn nows, we've

got kestrels back, we've got buzzards,

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we've got the red squirrel, which was

quite a rare thing on the island a while

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back, is now thriving on the property.

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So we've had a lot of sort of

projects in terms of bringing

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back the wildlife into the estate.

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That's been a lot of fun as well.

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Daniel Edward: I think I saw somewhere

that you, you make your own honey.

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Malcolm Lewis: We do indeed,

we have our own beehives.

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We've got eight working beehives

and it produces a lot of honey.

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We are pretty well self-sufficient

in honey, certainly serving

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honey that we serve you for,

for breakfast and our desserts.

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And, the bees are a very important part of

our estate and we love having them here.

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And an old gentleman who's the

nephew of our ex-head gardener

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looks after our beehives.

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He is an old boy and he's passionate

about the bees and he is always up there

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in his bee suit and talking to the bees.

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It is just great.

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And our honey is gorgeous.

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There's a real sort of rustic taste

to the honey, which is quite unique.

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Daniel Edward: Longueville manor

is the address in Jersey you're

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looking for that sustainable

luxury, it is the place to be going.

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An independent hotel with five of the,

AA's red stars, three red rosettes listed

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in the Michelin guide for your food.

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it's an amazing achievement.

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Malcolm Lewis: Yeah.

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Sometimes sit back and think, how

on earth do we get , these awards?

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And, you know, my wife and I,

our objective is to create and to

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continue creating, a place that, if

we were travelling and we were going

370

to stay in a hotel, it would be a

place that we would like to stay in.

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And I think that's been at the

back of our ambitions all the time.

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Everything we do is led by the heart

rather than by the financials, which

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sometimes, you know, our accountant

sort of says, or even our bank

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manager says, what the heck are

you doing, Malcolm and Patricia?

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But we're led by the heart more than not.

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And, we have this fantastic relationship

with our guests, and we listen to

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our guests and we react , to the

changing, demands of our guests.

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And I think guests are

becoming ever more discerning.

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They travel the world now, and they come

and stay with us, having had all these

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amazing experiences, all these hospitality

experiences, and we have to deliver.

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It's a challenge to deliver an amazing

service and amazing food, and making sure

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that our bedrooms are beautiful , and

that the place is absolutely pristine.

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We don't chase the awards, , the

awards actually are not

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really the ambition of ours.

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The ambition is, to make sure that

we deliver customer satisfaction

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and get wonderful customer feedback

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we have a very happy team because

they're forever making people happy.

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it's a simple formula and here

at Longville, it, it works.

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Daniel Edward: Given that listed by

Michelin three rosettes is amazing too.

390

the kitchen garden that David

is really brought back to life

391

is clearly coming through on

the plate and in the experience.

392

What sort of things are you

serving up on the plate?

393

Malcolm Lewis: The kitchen garden is

hugely important in terms of provenance

394

of produce, and I think people are

looking for ethically produced dishes.

395

You know, we shouldn't serve

strawberries from Peru in January.

396

So we won't surf strawberries

from Peru in January.

397

We'll serve strawberries in June, July

and August, when they're growing in

398

our own kitchen garden, or they're

growing next door by our local farmer.

399

We're an island and in particular,

people are really looking

400

for sort of seafood and fish.

401

Andrew are our, executive head chef.

402

Fish and shellfish, uh,

his big passion in life.

403

And in his younger days, he was

a very, very keen scallop diver.

404

And, , he's since then made fantastic

friends, who are dedicated scallop divers

405

who scallop dive specifically for us.

406

So our scallops, for

example, are all hand dived.

407

Which are very special because the

majority of scallops you'll find in, in

408

any fish manger anywhere, even here in

Jersey, but throughout the uk they will

409

be dredged and dredged scallops tend to be

quite distressed and can be quite tough.

410

So ours are very delicately , hand dived.

411

They're very special.

412

And also, our shellfish, our

lobsters, our crab, we have dedicated

413

fishermen who are supplying us with

these wonderful, wonderful produce.

414

Fish itself.

415

To be serving a line court, sea

bass, is a very special thing.

416

And, , sea bass is an indigenous

species, which is quite

417

prolific around these islands.

418

, It's the fish , and shellfish that's being

sought after by our guests in particular.

419

. Daniel Edward: One of the other

things that Jersey always makes me

420

think of, uh, the Jersey cows because

that is some of the best milk.

421

Malcolm Lewis: they're beautiful as well.

422

I think they are the most

pretty cow in the world.

423

And, uh, of course, Jersey cows

are prolific throughout the world.

424

They're an amazing species.

425

And of course they are from,

really, from the island of jersey.

426

the milk is absolutely sensational.

427

but it tends to be very

creamy and very rich.

428

It's to the majority's taste, but some

people find it a little bit too rich.

429

, I for one, and certainly our, our

guests tend to love it as well.

430

Of course, we make beautiful

jersey butter as well, , from it.

431

so yeah, the Jersey cow

is, is very special.

432

the island produces, all its own milk, and

there's a restriction on imported milk.

433

in fact, there's a total

ban on any imported milk.

434

It's all about making sure that we

preserve the species, making sure

435

that the farmers are not compromised

by competition from off island.

436

We are fiercely proud of this amazing cow.

437

When you come to the island and you

either cycle or horse ride or, walk or

438

whatever through the countryside, you'll

come across these amazing animals.

439

and they're so friendly as well.

440

They'll have a chat with you and,

we are very, very lucky to have

441

this wonderful, wonderful creature.

442

Daniel Edward: So, do you have

some good cream teas or what

443

sort of sweet treats are common?

444

Malcolm Lewis: Absolutely.

445

, Our afternoon tea is, , infamous.

446

we serve, oh, , it's almost

a ritual on a daily basis.

447

, People come from far and away to

have our afternoon tea and it's all

448

about the wonderful pastries and, the

wonderful scones and of course, the

449

cream that, you serve with the scones.

450

people come far away just to

have the, the cream with scones.

451

we make all our own jam.

452

so we'll serve a strawberry

jam, and the strawberry jam

453

will be homemade by ourselves.

454

We've got an amazing pastry

chef with an amazing team of

455

assistants to our pastry chef.

456

And we make fantastic cakes.

457

It's something that's very special.

458

We're very well known for it.

459

Daniel Edward: So if people want to

either book to stay with you or book for

460

afternoon tea when they're in Jersey,

how can they get in touch with you?

461

What's the best ways?

462

Malcolm Lewis: The online booking

system is, becoming ever more popular.

463

I would say probably 75% of our bookings

come through the booking engine.

464

The rest were booked directly with

us by phone or by email or whatever.

465

and that's, And that's really happening

also with our hotel reservations.

466

We charge some pretty hefty room rates

and a lot of our discerning guests will

467

want to do the booking themselves or get

their PA or whatever to make the booking

468

themselves and make sure that they get

a personal service, which makes sure

469

that they, have everything actually in

place at the right time, at the right

470

place when they arrive, for their short

break or their holiday or whatever.

471

Doing it online is very impersonal

and you don't necessarily have

472

the opportunity of making all the

very special specific requests.

473

And some of our guests, we get

dozens and dozens of specific

474

requests, special requests that have

to be in place for their arrival.

475

On the whole, yeah, I mean, the online

booking system is growing at a huge rate.

476

but we Have a reservations team,

that work tirelessly, on the phone

477

discussing itineraries, discussing

room types, and making sure that

478

the prospective guest gets exactly

what they want when they arrive.

479

Daniel Edward: How do people

get around the island?

480

Malcolm Lewis: Believe it or not, for a

45 square mile island, we have 400 miles

481

of road, which is quite extraordinary.

482

I mean, most of the roads, , are

only about five foot wide and

483

very difficult to drive down.

484

but I would always say that the

best way to actually really discover

485

the island, is probably by car.

486

We have a very good high

car delivery system here.

487

And, So high car is,

probably the best way.

488

However, bicycles is also a fantastic

way of getting to see the island.

489

We have a network of roads

within the 400 miles of road.

490

In particular in the countryside, we have

a network of what we call the green lanes.

491

And the green lane system is, a maximum

15 miles an hour, it's specifically

492

restricted to really give preference to,

walkers, to cyclists and to horse riders.

493

It just gives great cycling

opportunities for the more active . For

494

those that, are probably not quite

as active, definitely the high car

495

or bring our own car on the ferry.

496

We have great ferry service and a

lot of people bring their own car.

497

People with their pets

their dogs in particular.

498

, Daniel Edward: And on the roads,

which aren't these skinny single track

499

roads, are you driving on the left?

500

Malcolm Lewis: Oh, we're

driving on the left.

501

Yes, we are.

502

I say we're driving on the right side

of the road, but on the left hand.

503

We're part of Britain and we respect

the side of the road to drive on.

504

So of course, all our steering

wheels are on, the right hand side.

505

So when we go to France and France

is just an hour and a half on a

506

ferry, and we Jersey folk go to

France on a regular basis, , we're

507

always on the wrong side of the road.

508

maybe we should change that.

509

Who knows, maybe one day.

510

Daniel Edward: No hold onto it.

511

in terms of other typical customs

and etiquette, do people tip,

512

for example, in restaurants?

513

Malcolm Lewis: that's a

very interesting question.

514

It was a sort of a, a default

position you always tipped.

515

You always tipped because there

was no service charge on a bill.

516

The service charge is a norm now.

517

so you'll have your

bill , with a 10% or 12.5%,

518

whatever, it's percentage

service charge at the end.

519

So therefore, tipping certainly

in restaurants is almost

520

becoming a thing of the past.

521

But if you go to the hairdresser like

anywhere else, tip your hairdresser,

522

you'll tip your taxi driver.

523

All our prices here at Longville

are inclusive of service and we

524

make it absolutely clear to our

guests that, that has happened and,

525

and what happens at the end of it.

526

, We'll extract, the respective amount

and distribute it to our staff.

527

So it's all taken care of.

528

But over and above that guests will

leave a generous tip, for the overall

529

service that they've received.

530

And that happens on a

fairly regular basis.

531

But generally speaking,

tipping in a restaurant is now

532

almost a thing of the past.

533

Daniel Edward: Are there any other

Jersey customs that people coming

534

from overseas might not expect?

535

Malcolm Lewis: If you go into

certain parishes, of course, we've

536

got these 12 parishes on the island.

537

If you go to some of the north,

parishes on the north coast of the

538

island or the northwest in particular,

in particular the parish of St.

539

Juan, which is the northwest of the

island, you will sometimes hear to this

540

day, the old Patois, the Old Jersey

French, and the Old Jersey French, is the

541

derivative of the old Norman French, which

harps back to our history the Duke, of

542

Normandy and the Normans and all that.

543

And it is still spoken, by some of the

old folk, in some of the farmsteads, in

544

the more far-flung places on the island.

545

, And also Jersey French is now

being revived, in our, in our

546

college of further education.

547

We're trying to sort of make sure

that it doesn't get lost forever.

548

It's almost a bit like sort of English

choicer, if you like, mediaeval English.

549

they actually say that, if a Parisian

was to to listen to a Jersey person

550

speaking Jersey French, they would

find it difficult to understand.

551

But if a Welsh person had that

conversation with a Jersey person,

552

they'd find it easier to understand.

553

So it's this Celtic, Norman French,

which was the Celtic language.

554

and it's all interrelated, again, one

of these wonderful quirks of the island.

555

There are a few pubs actually on the

northwest of the island where on occasion,

556

some of the old farmers will come in and,

have their pint at the end of the day.

557

And, you'll hear , this

wonderful language being spoken.

558

Daniel Edward: What would you say is

your top thing to see or do in Jersey?

559

Malcolm Lewis: Without a doubt,

you have to go and visit, DURL Zoo,

560

Gerald Durl, who was this amazing,

zoologist, decided to, create this

561

zoo on the island of Jersey, back

in the, late fifties, early sixties.

562

The zoo still exists today.

563

It's a very important, , seat of learning,

of conservation, , and discovery.

564

And, , it has, , projects

all over the world.

565

about, making sure that

endangered species survive.

566

You won't find elephants in

giraffes , and those sort of animals.

567

You'll find, , animals that

are very much endangered.

568

And it's a working zoo in

terms of making sure that these

569

endangered species survive.

570

Daniel Edward: What would you say

is a tourist trap or a common first

571

timers mistake that someone more

experienced would, be able to avoid?

572

Malcolm Lewis: you know what I think,

we have so many restaurants here.

573

In fact, I often say, we have too

many restaurants because they seem to

574

be popping up left, right, and centre.

575

Most of 'em are absolutely amazing.

576

And we do have this amazing collection of

restaurants, which is really established

577

Jersey as as a wonderful, place to

come to for a gastronomic experience.

578

, But you do need to have inside

information, to just come to the island

579

and just , go into restaurants, potluck

without any, sort of recommendation

580

or whatever, can be quite tricky.

581

Gotta be very careful.

582

So I would say without a doubt, if

you're going to be eating out in

583

Jersey, because Jersey is now becoming,

renowned as a destination for eating

584

out a gastro destination, make

sure you have good recommendations.

585

Daniel Edward: What would you say is your

favourite time of year to visit Jersey?

586

Malcolm Lewis: I'd say without doubt,

the spring, I think the months of

587

April are great, but then you get into

early May and the weather has settled.

588

It's really warming up.

589

, The trees are coming out and there's

the, the flowers are, are, are blooming.

590

, The island's not as busy as

it is in the high summer.

591

, It's just a beautiful time of the year.

592

And of course, what is, from a

gastronomic point of view, our jersey

593

Royal, , which is this fantastic

potato that is unique to this island,

594

that's the height of it season.

595

, If you want to enjoy our jersey oil

potato, at, , at its best, then early

596

May is the best time without a doubt.

597

Daniel Edward: Would you say is

a book or a film recommendation

598

for somebody who wants to get

in the mood for a Jersey trip?

599

Malcolm Lewis: Well, of course, , we've

got our friend Jim Bergerac, which I would

600

say probably most people have heard of,

, if they haven't already watched, whether

601

it's the old series of Bergerac that

was hugely popular during the eighties.

602

Jim Bergerac, of course, was

played by John Nettles, and that

603

put Jersey on the map in a very

big way as a tourist destination.

604

I think there are eight

series, of the old Bergerac.

605

and then that's still being

shown on television now.

606

And of course, more recently we've had

a reboot of, Erak, and we've just had

607

the second series, released, only a few

months ago, and I think now is actually

608

playing on BBCI player and, BBC two.

609

Daniel Edward: And what would you

say is the top or your top food or

610

drink for somebody to try in Jersey?

611

Malcolm Lewis: food.

612

It's, it is gotta be our seafood.

613

It's got to be either a lobster or crab.

614

Here at Longville, we serve huge amounts

of lobster and crab, and our lobster and

615

crab is invariably caught probably the day

before, or even sometimes that morning.

616

And we serve it that night.

617

, And you know, , we have some of

the cleanest waters in the world.

618

, As I said earlier, , we have

tides that, , reach over 40 foot.

619

, So they rise and go

out , by this huge amount.

620

And so , our waters are

forever being cleaned.

621

And, the upshot is we have , this

wonderful clean water that produces

622

these, , beautiful, , lobsters and crabs.

623

Daniel Edward: And final question.

624

If somebody is heading to Jersey for

a holiday and they want to get an

625

authentic souvenir that they can then

take home as a memento of their visit,

626

but they don't want something that's

mass produced probably from somewhere

627

else, they want something which is truly

local, what could they look out for?

628

Malcolm Lewis: not so much now,

but certainly 20, 30 years ago,

629

the cabbage was a vegetable that

was, , produced inconsiderable

630

quantities on the island island.

631

And, um, and it's, it still

is today, but probably not as

632

much as it was in those days.

633

And, one of the things that the cabbage

growers did, , was they would allow

634

a certain amount of their cabbages

to bolt, in other words, grow, tall.

635

So when a cabbage bolts, you

end up with this long stick.

636

And what they would do is they would

cut these bolted, cabbages, and

637

they would create walking sticks.

638

And so the cabbage stick, is very

much a very unique Jersey article.

639

It is probably one of the

most unique jersey things

640

that you could possibly find.

641

Actually, it's the Old

Jersey Cabbage Stick.

642

I've got one at home as well.

643

I don't use it by the way, but

I have it in my umbrella stand

644

and it's a very unique thing

and I'm very proud to have it.

645

Daniel Edward: Well, I

wasn't expecting that.

646

Malcolm Lewis, owner of Longueville

Mallor, thank you so much

647

for unlocking jersey for us.

648

Malcolm Lewis: That's

been a real pleasure.

649

Thank you very much.

650

Daniel Edward: Thank you once again to

Malcolm Lewis from Longville Mana for

651

talking us through this wonderful island.

652

And if you haven't done the Channel

Islands, it's well worth it as a little

653

trip, especially if you're from the uk.

654

It's so easy to get across there.

655

But if you're from further afield,

it could be a nice addition for

656

a three or four day extra trip to

either a French or British holiday.

657

And Longville Manor is beautiful.

658

Check out the pictures on their website.

659

It's a lovely place.

660

If this is your first time listening to

the Destination Unlocked Podcast, give

661

us a follow now before you head off.

662

And that way when you want to go

armchair travelling somewhere else

663

in the world, you'll be able to

find us again nice and easily.

664

Until then, thank you for listening.

665

See you soon.

666

Bye-bye.