Guernsey, 4th Day, late afternoon at Pleinmont
Of all the fortifications we had seen on Guernsey that day, the ones at Pleinmont were the most interesting. We drove there straight from Saumarez but it was nearly 5.00pm by the time we arrived and, being October, the light was going. But as it drew towards sunset the grey skies made way for some lovely light and a rainbow. Fort Pleinmont is on the Torteval peninsula at the extreme south east of the island. Here there are various structures built by the Germans when they occupied Guernsey in World War II. Building Hitler's wall on Guernsey took thousands of men drafted in as slave labour, mainly from France, and an enormous amount of concrete. The number of German soldiers brought onto the island was also extreme, one soldier for every two members of the native population. We first went into an underground bunker which had a base for a 22cm cannon. It was quite eerie going into these confined spaces. Next we had a look at a command post that has a scenic v...