Alderney week......You just have to visit !

Great Britain is famous for its quirky events.
What about the Maldon Mud Race or the Man v Horse race in Wales? Alternatively, there is the World Pea Shooting Championships in Cambridgeshire, the International Bird Man competition in West Sussex, Hen racing in Derbyshire, Train racing in Tywyn or, for a little more unusual still, bog snorkelling or the Dress as Elvis festival. With equal merit, you also need to consider the Alderney Week. This year the theme is Cowboys and Aliens !

Alderney is one of the UK Channel Islands situated approximately 25 miles off the French coast. The island itself is only three miles long by 1.5 miles wide. Alderney is the third largest of the Channel Islands and the most northerly. Like the other islands, Alderney is a self-governing crown dependency so is dependent on the UK for items such as defence, but does retain a certain degree of independence.

Alderney’s reputation as “2000 alcoholics clinging to a rock in the English Channel,” is well warranted. At points, it has had a higher pub to person ratio than any other settlement in the UK. However, Alderney is probably one of the safest destinations you can visit. Crime is very rare and generally minor. People leave doors unlocked and often leave vehicles with the keys in the ignition.

Alderney has its fair share of quirky events, the most unusual of these is Alderney Week, which is always the first week in August. This year Boatshed.com are proud to sponsor Alderney Week and its rather unusual theme of Cowboys and Aliens. Think Men in Black, the Lone Ranger, ET, flying saucers and Avatar coupled with Yosemite Sam, saloons and rodeos and you start to form a picture of how crazy this island can be.

The festival itself is the Channel Islands’ biggest annual carnival and community festival and starts on the 1st and finishes on 8th August 2015. For the nautical minded fans there is the AW Harbour Festival. This includes things such as greasy poles, man-powered flight, inflatable jousting, duck races, stalls and a whole raft of food and drinking attractions. Members of the Boatshed team are going to be visiting the island for much of the festival itself and Alderney Harbour is a real treat for any sailors who haven’t visited. The harbour itself offers a secure anchorage as well as a host of secure moorings. The very friendly harbour office and yacht club are an ideal meeting venue and also offer free wifi and facilities 24/7.

If you’ve never visited the island of Alderney it’s a real treat, great walking with superb beaches and whilst it may be a bit busy during Alderney Week itself, it offers a real sense of tranquillity and peace. You feel, very often, that you are on a desert island. Passage from the UK by boat from the Solent with fair tides can take around 12 to 14 hours in a sailing boat, motorboats can obviously make it much faster. It’s an approximate distance of 60 miles from the Needles Channel.

We very much look forward to seeing any friends of Boatshed.com at Alderney Week.

If anyone has any questions about mooring or passage information the Boatshed crew are regular visitors to the island so can give you all of the gen and background on a visit.
Alternatively, the links below should form a good basis for planning a trip.

Alderney Week Programme

Sailing Guide to Alderney

http://www.visitalderney.com/

Cheers from the Boatshed.com crew.