#193: Walking on the Island of Sark
No cars or public lights bring a slower pace of a time past.
Sark is one of the three islands I visited on my walk last month. It is the smallest, too, only 2.10 square miles with a population of about about 600. It is closer to France (24 miles from the north coast) than England (80 miles from the south coast). It is serviced by a small passenger only ferry.
Its history is fascinating as it has the last feudal constitution in the western world and residents of days past like Dame Sibyl Hathaway (now passed) who “protected her people with the unlikeliest of weapons: Feudal etiquette, old-world manners, and a dollop of classic snobbery.” Also well worth the read is this New Yorker piece about Sark’s more recent history with Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay, identical-twin billionaires from England, who chipped away at the island’s over four-hundred-and-fifty-year-old constitution through a series of lawsuits, buying up almost a quarter of the land on Sark, too.
Sark is designated as a Dark Sky Island, which means it has no public lighting at night so, when skies are clear, stars shine bright. I was there close to the new moon and was hoping to catch a stellar view of The Milky Way. Alas the days were cloudy and that lasted through the first night, but it did clear up some on my second night there so I was able to catch a bit of the starlit sky. That combined with the silence of the island make me want to return for another shot at seeing the full sky on a starry night.
Other than tractors, vehicles are banned, too.
This means that residents and visitors travel by bike.
As they were casually parked here and there, I don’t think there is much theft on the island.
Mail and packages are delivered by the postman who rides a cargo bike.
Emergency medical help comes by cargo bike, too. I did hear that it is £2000 if you need to be evacuated off the island by boat. Residents receive a £200 discount.
Horse drawn carriages like the one below are often seen on Sark’s main thoroughfares.
Time feels much slower on Sark.
When traveling by foot…
it slows down even more.
What I’m Reading
I finished and loved Lessons in Chemistry and just brought home from my library, The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us by Bee Wilson. I have read a number of Bee Wilson’s other books. A favorite, which I have read and re-read, is Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat.
What I’m Listening To
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Stunning, Kate! What a tiny slice of paradise. What’s the best way to get to the Channel Islands?
wow, awesome journey. thank you for sharing. Regarding Lessons in Chemistry, Oct 13, Apple TV plus will start streaming a tv series, 2 episodes on the 13th, then one episode every Friday, ending on Nov 24