Here's What's On Our Summer Bucket Lists For A Summer At Home

Many of you know that we like to go offline in August. After months of writing, meetings and sharing the best of Guernsey with you, we press pause on The List for a few weeks. It's our chance to practise what we preach, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy a little more of island life ourselves.

This year we've challenged ourselves to be tourists at home. We've both got family coming to stay, which feels like the perfect excuse to revisit some favourite places and tick off a few things we've been meaning to get around to. We've also made sure to include a couple of solo moments too.

If you've never made a summer bucket list before, we'd really recommend it. It doesn't have to be ambitious. Sometimes the simplest plans end up becoming the memories you treasure most.

Here's what's on ours:

 

Stef's Summer Bucket List

1. Twilight Cinema at Castle Cornet

I find it harder to pop along to things like this since we had kids, but they're a bit older this year so I've booked Madagascar at the Twilight Cinema with grandparents. I'll take chairs and picnic and if they can't sit through the whole thing, it's fine cos we've seen it many times before! It's such a unique thing to do in Guernsey. 

2. Try Clifftop Yoga & Sound Bath

I keep seeing the beautiful videos of Jane from GoYoga's outdoor yoga classes & sound baths on the cliffs. It looks like such a wonderful experience, so it's on my list to try and pop along - if I can get the times to line up with kids!

3. Go on Puffin Patrol

My 3 year has decided she'd like to take her dad puffin watching after being an avid fan of Puffin Rock for years, so we promised him a rib ride with Island RIB Voyages for Father's Day. We may miss the puffins this year but I know she'll enjoy the rest anyway. It's for ages 3 and up, so she's old enough now to come along on these kinds of adventures on our doorstep.

4. Enjoy a West Coast Sunset

I don't get to the west coast in the evenings very often. In fact, I don't get anywhere in the evenings often these days, but I'd love to spend a quiet evening watching the sunset, maybe just with a mat and a journal for some alone time. I don't crave social time these days, I crave silence! And you can't beat a Cobo Sunset.

5. Enjoy a Long Alfresco Lunch 

One of my favourite things to do is to head to lunch and be there all day in the sun. It's a great thing to do with groups of friends, family & kids and feels like you're on holiday with just that lunch in the calendar for the whole day. So I do plan to pop to the Douvres or similar and enjoy the gardens and sunshine.

6. Do Some Island Hopping

I love a day out in Herm or Sark. It's like a real holiday adventure but you don't have to pack much. My three-year-old would absolutely love the boats and we haven't taken her across this year yet. I even wondered about camping with the kids maybe, but we'll see. I'd like to try one night, so I'm on the lookout for options for that, as most seem to have min 3 nights, which might be an overcommitment for a trial run!

 

 

Tracey's Summer Bucket List

1. Head to Town for the Street Festival

Lately, trips to town have been either for meetings or a quick dash to stock up on essentials. This summer I’d like to slow down and enjoy it properly while the Street Festival is in full swing. There’s so much local talent and I want to make time to listen to the live music and enjoy an iced rose tea from Lola.

2. Enjoy a South Coast Sea Swim

Sea swimming is one of my favourite things to do, especially at this time of year when the water has warmed up enough that I can get in without quite so much stalling and squealing. Portelet and Port Grat at high tide are two of my favourite spots, but I'd love to explore a few more south coast bays this summer. Maybe I’ll combine a swim at Muelin Huet with a visit to the Renoir Tea Garden for a cuppa and catch-up with a friend.

3. Book a Reiki Reset

I haven't booked a Reiki session for ages, and writing this list made me realise just how much I've missed it. I always leave feeling lighter and more grounded. It feels like the perfect summer reset. 

4. Make Dinner Plans

Now that our children are grown up, getting all four of us in the same place at the same time isn’t as easy as it used to be. Between work, friends and summer plans, someone always seems to be busy. So one thing I'd really like to do this summer is plan a few family dinners while everyone's on the island. Nothing fancy, just good food and a chance to properly catch up. 

5. Spend Time in My Garden

Anyone who knows me knows I love pottering in the garden, but sometimes it can feel more like another job on the to-do list. So this summer, I'd like to spend a little more time simply enjoying it. No weeding, watering or dead-heading. Just a good book, a comfortable chair and an hour or two in the sunshine.

6. Do Some Island Hopping

I’m planning to gatecrash the party when Stef takes the kids over to Herm.  Shh, she doesn’t know this yet! Not the camping, although I have some lovely memories of staying there when my own children were little. I’m thinking a beach day will be fun with the little ones. The friendship we’ve built over the years is one of the best things to come from The List and a sunny day in Herm seems like a good way to celebrate that.

 

Image: Tony Brassell

However you're spending the rest of the summer, we hope you find plenty of time to switch off, try something new and enjoy everything our islands have to offer.

If you're looking for inspiration, don't forget to visit our Things To Do page. We'll continue updating it throughout August with events and ideas to help you make the most of the season.

And if you'd like to see what we're getting up to (and perhaps catch a few behind-the-scenes hints about that project we mentioned...), keep an eye on our social channels.

We'll be dipping in and out over the summer and would love to see what makes it onto your own bucket list too.