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Visit Devil's Hole - Jersey's eerie blowhole

A collapsed sea cave and its bronze devil

Devil's Hole is a thirty-metre crater on the north coast where the roof of a sea cave fell in centuries ago. On a big Atlantic swell the sea still surges through the hidden tunnel below and booms underfoot. A short, strange and very Jersey detour, reached by an easy path from the Priory Inn.

The chasm began as a sea cave, gouged into the cliff by the Atlantic until its roof collapsed and left a deep, funnel-shaped crater open to the sky. Islanders once knew it as Le Creux de Vis - the 'screw hole' - for the way the water spirals in; the Devil's Hole name, and the sculpted devil that greets walkers, came later and stuck. The path down from the Priory Inn winds through ferns and gorse to a wooden viewing platform bolted to the cliff, from where you look down into the churning pit. On calm days it is quietly atmospheric; on a rising swell it is genuinely dramatic, the sea thudding through the submerged arch and throwing spray up the walls. The current devil - a horned figure said to have begun life as a ship's figurehead - stands in a small pond partway down, a favourite photo stop. The round trip takes barely twenty minutes, which makes it one of the easiest ways to feel the raw edge of Jersey's north coast.

À quoi s'attendre

A short, well-made path leads down from the car park and café at the Priory Inn to a railed viewing platform above the crater. You will pass the famous devil sculpture in its pond on the way. Allow around forty-five minutes for the round trip with time to watch the sea. The platform is the end of the line - the rock around the chasm is unstable and fenced off for good reason. It is best on a big swell, when the Atlantic forces water through the collapsed cave and the whole hollow seems to breathe. Sturdy shoes help on the descent.

Où cela se passe

Devil's Hole is on the cliffs of St Mary, on Jersey's north coast, reached through the Priory Inn, which sits above it with a car park, bar and restaurant. The wider north coast path runs past the top, linking east towards Bonne Nuit and west towards Grève de Lecq. It is about a fifteen-minute drive or a bus ride from St Helier.

Secteur

St Mary (north coast)

Durée

45 min

Meilleur moment

Big swell days, autumn–spring, golden hour

Marée

Marée haute

Météo

Mieux par beau temps

Idéal pour

Familles, Couples, Solo, Photographie

Difficulté

Easy

Réservation

Venez simplement sur place

Consigne de sécurité

Stay behind the viewing platform railings - the rock around the chasm is unstable. Not suitable for small unsupervised children near the edge.

À combiner avec

Lunch at the Priory Inn above, then follow the cliff path west to Grève de Lecq.

Points forts

  • • Thirty-metre crater from a collapsed sea cave
  • • Booming Atlantic surge on a big swell
  • • The carved devil sculpture in its pond
  • • Railed cliff-edge viewing platform
  • • Café and pub at the Priory Inn above

Time your visit for a day with a strong onshore swell and an incoming tide - that is when the sea actually roars through the hole. Combine it with lunch at the Priory Inn directly above.

#Viewpoint#Cliffs#Curiosity#Free

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