Land in Torteval gifted to National Trust

The Trust was approached by Devonian Paul de Garis who had inherited the land from a local relative.

‘I’m not sure Paul has ever actually been to Guernsey, but you can see from his name he has local roots,’ said National Trust president Mike Brown.

‘He wanted to do something for the benefit of the island. I’m blown away by the generosity of people.’

Mr Brown said the land was of little commercial value, but was priceless in the context of biodiversity.

‘Paul really didn’t need a bit of land near a cliff, here in Guernsey, so he offered it to us and we said yes, without even knowing exactly where it was. It was lovely to discover we already owned the adjacent land.’

Les Tielles is the area on the south of the island which spans the boundary between St Peter’s and Torteval.

The bequest of the site, roughly an acre (four vergees) in size increases the National Trust’s site to approximately eight acres.

Mr Brown explained that a surprising amount of its land holdings had been donated in such a way.

‘It’s actually quite common. People who live in the UK inherit, and then don’t really know what to do with it, so they gift it to the trust.

‘We were also given a piece of land in the Petit Bot valley recently in exactly the same way.’

This piece of land is described as a ‘furze break’ – an area of land that was set aside for growing gorse that could be used for firewood.

‘A lot of old Guernsey properties had areas like this. The wood would be harvested, dried and burnt in a furze oven and that’s where they would make their bread.

Mr Brown said he would now consult with other Guernsey conservation organisations, including the States, to decide on a plan for the area.

‘My first thought is to clear out the bramble and bracken and see what’s there.

‘Hopefully we will see some wonderful wild flowers that have been lying dormant.

‘I’ll be asking La Societe’s botany section to have a look.’