Soo Wellfair – författare

Guernsey is a beautiful Channel Island with a fascinating history and breathtaking scenery. With an area of just 24 square miles, visitors are astonished at just how much there is to see and do. The island’s varied landscape ranges from beautiful beaches, stunning cliffs and lush countryside to the quirky, cobbled streets of the harbour town of St Peter Port.In this book, accredited tour guide Soo Wellfair takes us on a journey around the island to discover fifty of its cherished places. Guernsey’s many visitors find themselves immersed in the delights of this quaint and charming island and the author leads us to some of her favourite hidden treasures. Seek out the tiny chapel decorated in broken pieces of pottery and the clifftop woodland that comes alive every year when it is swathed in a blanket of bluebells. Explore Guernsey’s historic sites from throughout the island’s history. From Neolithic times through to the medieval and Tudor periods, and even to the more contemporary structures built during the occupation of Guernsey in the Second World War, this is an island that is small in size but immense in history and beauty.Illustrated throughout, 50 Gems of Guernsey will appeal to residents, visitors and all those interested in the island’s history.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a cluster of small islands in the English Channel, the largest of which are Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm. With a history going right back to prehistoric times, Guernsey and its neighbouring islands are rich in folklore, legends and customs. Small island communities, by their very nature, tend to have a distinct heritage based on storytelling and these tales are passed down from generation to generation. The tales often originate from the truth, even if they are altered so much over the centuries that they end up as fairy stories, so the folklore of Guernsey reveals its history. It is also the foundation of what makes the people and culture of the islands distinct through their customs and their superstitions. What local people may take for granted as ʻthe normʼ, may seem absolutely fascinating or bewildering to a visitor.In this book local author Soo Wellfair explores the folklore and legends of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, as well as some of the things that could be considered ʻquintessentially Guernseyʼ. These strange and fascinating stories are accompanied by illustrations of places featured in the text, both present-day and historical, in this hugely entertaining book.

The Channel Island of Guernsey has a fascinating history, from its earliest prehistoric settlers through to the present day. It was inherited by the English then British Crown as part of the Duchy of Normandy and its individual and separate heritage can be seen throughout the island. In this book local historian Soo Wellfair looks at Guernsey’s ten parishes and the most fascinating, beautiful and historic buildings in each. Guernsey’s architectural history spans many periods, with examples from the medieval period, Tudor times, the Georgian and Victorian eras, as well as some impressive recent structures.Guernsey in 50 Buildings explores the history of this Channel Island through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, showing the changes that have taken place over the years. This book will appeal to all those who live in Guernsey or who have an interest in the island.