Bordeaux Harbour (Guernsey)
Coordinates: 49°29′24″N 2°30′25″W / 49.490°N 2.507°W
Bordeaux Harbour is a fishing port and bay in the parish of Vale in the northeast of Guernsey.
Uses
It used to be used as a fishing harbour and later as a harbour for ships loading stone from the nearby Bordeaux quarry. The quarry, to the north of the bay, has since been used as a land reclamation site and has been landscaped. Concrete structures on the north edge of the bay indicate where machinery linked to the quarry were located.
Now more commonly used just as a beach, with a few local boats using the safe anchorage, it is one of the few beaches in Guernsey that allow you to walk your dogs on all year round.
The annual Guernsey winkle-picking contest is held here each year on 23 October.
Adjacent
Vale Castle overlooks the harbour and a beach cafe is close by.
Just off the bay is the Houmets islets, mentioned by Victor Hugo who described Les Houmets, in his work The Toilers of the Sea (Les Travailleurs de la mer). Gilliat, the main character had his home on Houmet Paradis.