Les Minquiers

Les Minquiers, known locally as the Minkies, is a reef around eighteen kilometres south of Jersey that at the lowest tides exposes an area larger than Jersey itself, though almost all of it is rock and sand rather than land. A few huts stand on Maîtresse Île, the largest islet, and the southernmost of them is generally described as the southernmost building in the British Isles. Ownership of the reef was settled by the International Court of Justice in 1953.

What you actually see

• The exposed reef - an area larger than Jersey uncovered at the lowest tides.
• Maîtresse Île - the largest islet, with its group of huts.
• The southernmost building - the hut usually described as the furthest south in the British Isles.
• The clear shallows - water over sand between the rocks.

When to go

May to September is the boat season. Trips run to the tide and the biggest exposures come at spring low water. Weather cancels crossings often.

Honest expectations

Trips depend entirely on tide and weather and are cancelled frequently. Navigation among the rocks is genuinely hazardous. There are no facilities at all.

Nearby

St Helier is north, and the French coast is east.