Travel Guide Torteval

This parish in the south-west of the island, dominated by a pretty bell tower, has retained its rural authenticity. For the inhabitants of the capital Saint-Peter-Port, Torteval is a little like the "deep countryside", where you can still hear the local patois, rarely used elsewhere.Its plateau and rocky coastline give it a rugged appearance, but a wonderful place for hiking. The rugged coastline is spectacular. The parish probably takes its name from the valley that twists and turns its way down from the church to the west coast at Fort Grey. Just opposite the Pleinmont promontory stands the Hanois lighthouse, amid the reefs that Victor Hugo dubbed "Les assassins de la mer" ("The murderers of the sea"). Before the lighthouse was built in 1862, over a hundred ships were wrecked here.TheFairy Ring. If you're passing through Pleinmont, you'll see a sign saying "La Table des pions", but no table... You need to look back in history to understand the place of this vestige in local history. In the Middle Ages, the pions were the squires who accompanied the lords on their annual round of road inspections, to ensure that the roads were in good condition for the Corpus Christi processions. Since they didn't own horses, the pions had to go on foot, but they were granted a nice perk: they were allowed to kiss any young girl who happened to be in their way.