St Martin, Guernsey

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St. Martin
Location of St. Martin in Guernsey
Location of St. Martin in Guernsey
Island Guernsey, Channel Islands
Area 7.3 km²
Population 6267
- density 858.5/km²
Electoral district South East

Saint Martin (Guernésiais and French Saint Martin; historically Saint-Martin-de-la-Bellouse) is a parish in Guernsey, Channel Islands. The islands lie in the Channel between Great Britain and France.

The postal code for street addresses in this parish begins with GY4.

The old Guernésiais nickname for people from Saint Martin is dravans.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Children on the Beach of Guernsey, 1883, a painting of Petit Port by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Children on the Beach of Guernsey, 1883, a painting of Petit Port by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Saint Martin is located in the southeast of Guernsey. The parish borders the Forest on the southwest, Saint Andrew northwest, and Saint Peter Port on the northeast.

Saint Martin also has a very small detachment to the west. The detachment is an exclave which is not contiguous with the rest of the parish.

Saint Martin is one of the most expensive parishes in the island for property, with the average four bedroomed house costing £615,000

This portion of the parish is displayed on the map above as another small red area to the west of the center of the parish, best seen in the enlargement of the map, which is accessed by clicking upon the map.

[edit] Beaches

The coast has many cliffs, but the beaches in Saint Martin include (from southwest to northeast):

  • Part of Petit Bot Bay (pronounced /pətiː boʊ/)
  • Saint's Bay
  • Moulin Huet (pronounced /mʊlɛn wɛt/)
  • Petit Port
  • Marble Bay - also known as Le Pied du Mur
  • Part of Fermain Bay

[edit] Relief

Saint Martin is the second highest parish in Guernsey, its elevation is exceeded only by the Forest. The highest areas in the parish are in the central portion, but this gently slopes down to the boundaries, where on the coast, the parish is delineated by steep cliffs.

[edit] Features

La Gran'mère du Chimquière, the Grandmother of Chimquiere, the statue menhir at the gate of Saint Martin's church is an important prehistoric site in the parish
La Gran'mère du Chimquière, the Grandmother of Chimquiere, the statue menhir at the gate of Saint Martin's church is an important prehistoric site in the parish

The features of the parish include:

  • Jerbourg Point, the most southeasterly point in the island,
  • Moulin Huet Bay, a large area of water that includes Saint's Bay, Moulin Huet, and Petit Port.

[edit] Main roads

The following roads provide important links between Saint Martin and the other parishes (listed from southwest to northeast):

  • Forest Road leads to the Forest and the western portion of the island,
  • Les Varioufs leads to Saint Andrew's and the northwestern portion of the island,
  • Fort Road leads to Saint Peter Port, the east coast, and the northern portion of the island.

The following roads are also very important, as they provide access to the village centre and most of the shops (listed from west to east):

  • Rue Maze
  • La Grande Rue

[edit] External links

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Parishes in Guernsey