Alderney Week campers face evacuation

Thursday 08 August 2019

Alderney's Saye Beach campsite will be evacuated today because of forecast high winds, during the busiest week in the island's calendar.

Around 150 campers will be put up in homes, church halls, the Island Hall and the Masonic Lodge for three nights until tents can be re-erected once the weather calms down.

The planned three-night evacuation comes during the busiest week of the year for the island, when the population is said to double in size. All hotels and guest houses are full and the campsite is at the peak of its occupancy.

Some campers have family, friends or holiday acquaintances in the island; but many others, including French and Dutch families currently staying there, have no links  to the island.

At 22:00 on Friday the average windspeed is forecast to be 25mph gusting to 44mph. By 04:00 on 10 August it is set to gust up to 51mph.

Campsite manager Zoe Sowden said: "We will keep checking the weather but we have to evacuate in advance as a precaution to keep people safe and save tents."

She has also turned to the States of Alderney for help, knowing that a couple of years ago the States prepared an Emergency Plan, aimed at putting measures in place for a large scale incident such as a fault at the nuclear site eight miles away across the Channel.

Pictured: The campsite is near Saye Beach.

The States of Alderney will shuttle campers to alternative accommodation and States Works employees will help take down and then re-erect tents on Sunday.

"We appreciate the help being given by some residents who are accommodating friends and acquaintances in their homes. There will still be between 80 and 100 campers who will need to be accommodated over Friday night and Saturday night," said States CEO Andrew Muter.

"We have agreed the use of a number of venues including Island Hall, the Masonic Hall, the Methodist Church Hall and the Catholic Church Hall. Campers will be moved on Friday to these venues and assistance will be available from States Works to help take down tents. We hope to be able to reverse the process and get people back to the campsite on Sunday. This will all depend on when the wind speed drops.

Pictured: Saye campsite in Alderney is run by Zoe Sowden and this is its busiest week of the year. 

"We want everyone on the island to enjoy the rest of Alderney Week and their holiday so we’ll be working to ensure this is as easy enjoyable as possible for everyone affected."

One camper said: "It's not the ideal way to spend any part of your holiday but it will certainly make it memorable."

Mandy Robilliard from Guernsey has had to move into a hotel, "it's a shame but it's a necessity. It doesn't put us off camping!"