Six Decades on the Écréhous: A Family’s Lifelong Connection to Jersey’s Remote Reef

For almost 60 years, Richard Miles has returned to the same small fisherman’s hut on Les Écréhous, a remote group of islands and reefs situated between Jersey and France.

Around six miles (10km) from Jersey and eight miles (13km) from the French coast, Les Écréhous has no roads, shops or permanent population. Instead, the rocky reef is home to a collection of small huts, many of which have remained within the same families for generations.

The area forms part of one of Europe’s largest intertidal zones, with tides rising and falling by around 40ft (12m) twice a day.

For Miles, the connection to the Écréhous began with his grandmother, who bought the family hut for £500 in 1956, shortly after it had been built. She had heard that the property was for sale and made an offer that was surprisingly accepted, despite another hut-owner also wanting to purchase it.

The hut has remained in the family ever since. According to Miles, properties on the reef are rarely sold and are generally handed down through generations.

A history stretching back centuries

The Écréhous has a history that goes far beyond its modern-day huts.

Its name has Norse origins, with the word “Écré” believed to come from “Esker”, meaning a rocky islet or skerry. “Hou” can refer to an island and was also associated with ancient burial mounds, such as Jersey’s famous Hougue Bie.

Archaeological discoveries by La Société Jersiaise have provided evidence of the reef’s medieval and Viking past. Among the findings are the remains of a medieval chapel and a burial believed to belong to a Viking girl.

The grave was discovered beneath the chapel on Maîtr'Île, the largest of the Écréhous islets. Archaeologists believe the chapel may have been constructed over the burial without its builders being aware of the grave below.

The reef has also been the subject of a territorial dispute. France challenged Jersey’s sovereignty over the Écréhous in 1950, but the International Court of Justice confirmed in 1953 that the reef belonged to Jersey.

A childhood paradise

Miles has been visiting since childhood and says returning to the reef brings back the feeling of being young.

The simple pleasures of life there have stayed with him, from catching shrimp in rock pools and searching for lobsters to watching sunsets and spending evenings with fellow hut-owners.

During the summer, the otherwise uninhabited reef becomes a small community, with many owners staying for weeks at a time. The close quarters and changing tides create a unique way of life in which neighbours depend on one another.

The parish of St Martin, which administers Les Écréhous, maintains a close relationship with the hut-owners. Parish officials make an annual boat trip to the reef to meet residents, discuss concerns and keep an eye on the condition of the area.

Connétable Karen Shenton-Stone regards the Écréhous as an important part of St Martin and says the parish is protective of its unusual offshore territory.

The hut-owners also play an important role in looking after the reef. Because they spend significant periods there, they can alert the parish to anything unusual or potentially concerning.

A wilderness worth preserving

Les Écréhous is not only culturally and historically significant but also environmentally important.

The reef is protected under the Ramsar Convention, which recognises wetlands of international importance for wildlife.

Andrew Mitchell, chairman of the local Ramsar advisory group and a hut-owner himself, credits his childhood experiences on the Écréhous with influencing his decision to become a conservationist.

The isolation of the reef gave him an early experience of wilderness, from watching shooting stars at night to exploring clear rock pools and experiencing the changing weather on the exposed rocks.

His later studies in zoology and international conservation work took him around the world, but the Écréhous remained particularly special to him.

For Miles and other generations of hut-owners, the reef represents far more than a collection of rocky islands. It is a place where family traditions, wildlife, history and community have survived largely unchanged.

And every summer, as the tides sweep across the rocks and reveal the reef once again, generations of families continue to return to their small corner of the Channel.