St Aubin Webcam – Jersey’s Tidal Bay and Island Fort

The St Aubin Webcam looks out over St Aubin’s Bay in Jersey from the breakfast patio of The Panorama, a guest house on La Rue du Croquet in the old harbor village of St Aubin. A church bell turret and village rooftops fill the foreground, with the coast road and sea wall just below them. Beyond, the bay opens out along the far shore toward St Helier, and St Aubin’s Fort sits on its tidal islet to the right. The tide changes the picture through the day. At low water the bay drains to sand flats cut by winding channels, and on the flood the sea spreads back across them toward the wall.

About St Aubin

St Aubin sits at the western end of St Aubin’s Bay on Jersey’s south coast. It is the administrative center of the parish of St Brelade, although the parish church stands in St Brelade’s Bay, a short way west. Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency rather than part of the United Kingdom. The island lies about 22 kilometers (14 miles) off the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy and covers 119.6 square kilometers (46.2 square miles).

The village was once the island’s commercial center. In 1648 the States of Jersey ordered a pier built here. For almost two centuries after that, St Aubin was the only large port on the island, while St Helier had just a small quay until 1840. Fishing crews sailed from here for the Newfoundland cod grounds, and the parish held its spring communion earlier than other parishes so the men could attend before they left. The road around the bay to St Helier was finished in 1844.

St Aubin’s Fort, the low fortified islet on the right of the frame, stands just outside the harbor. A tower went up on the rock in the early 1540s to guard the harbor entrance, an outer line of defenses followed around the time of the English Civil War, and German forces added bunkers and gun positions during the Second World War occupation. Schools and youth groups now use it as a residential center.

Rail shaped the waterfront too. The Jersey Railway’s first train ran from St Helier to St Aubin on 25 October 1870, the line was extended to La Corbiere in 1884, and it closed after a fire at St Aubin station in October 1936 destroyed the station roof and 16 carriages. The station building, on land reclaimed beside the harbor, is now St Brelade’s parish hall.

Weather and Climate in St Aubin

Jersey has an oceanic climate with cool to mild winters, measured at Jersey Airport, 84 meters (276 feet) above sea level. January averages a high of 8.3°C (46.9°F) and a low of 4.3°C (39.7°F). April reaches 12.5°C (54.5°F) by day and 6.5°C (43.7°F) at night. July and August are the warmest months, with highs of 20.4°C to 20.6°C (68.7°F to 69.1°F) and lows of 13.9°C to 14.3°C (57.0°F to 57.7°F). October stays mild at 15.4°C (59.7°F) by day and 10.6°C (51.1°F) at night. The 1981 to 2010 averages give about 1,905 hours of sunshine and 866 millimeters (34.1 inches) of rain a year, and 2022 was the island’s warmest and sunniest year on record.

On camera, the seasons show mostly in the light and the water. Winter days are short and often overcast, with a flat grey sky over the sands and whitecaps on stormy high tides. Calm spring and autumn mornings can turn the wet sand into a mirror at low water, and summer gives the longest days and the sharpest line along the far shore. The tide matters as much as the weather: the same hour can show open water one day and a wide stretch of sand a few days later.

Things to Do Near St Aubin

St Aubin is a village to explore on foot. Jersey Heritage publishes a St Aubin walk of about 45 minutes that covers the village’s history of cod fishing, privateers and the railway, and the harbor, the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club and the old station building all line the waterfront. At low tide you can walk the causeway out to the walls of St Aubin’s Fort, with the official tide times checked first.

The old railway line makes the best longer outing. A seafront promenade and cycling trail now run along its trackbed, so the whole 12.5-kilometer (7.75-mile) route from St Helier through St Aubin to La Corbiere can be walked or cycled, east along the curve of the bay seen on camera or west to La Corbiere. St Brelade’s Bay, home to the parish church, lies a short way west of the village.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

The site has no other Channel Islands cameras yet, so these three look across the Channel at Brittany and south Devon: an old fishing harbor, a river port and a railway on a sea wall.

• Binic Webcam
• Dartmouth Harbour Webcam
• Dawlish Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is St Aubin located?

St Aubin is on the south coast of Jersey, at the western end of St Aubin’s Bay in the parish of St Brelade. St Helier sits at the other end of the same bay, and Jersey itself lies off the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy, France.

What can you see on the St Aubin Webcam?

The camera looks across St Aubin’s Bay toward St Helier from above the village. A church bell turret and rooftops sit in the foreground, with the coast road and sea wall below them. Beyond is the bay itself, sand flats and channels at low tide and open water at high tide, with St Aubin’s Fort on its tidal islet to the right and the far shore on the skyline.

Is this the Panorama St Aubin webcam?

Yes. The camera belongs to The Panorama, a guest house on La Rue du Croquet in St Aubin, which shows it on its website as the live view from its breakfast patio over St Aubin’s Bay.

Does this webcam show Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer in France?

No. This St Aubin is the harbor village in Jersey. Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer is a different seaside village on the Normandy coast of mainland France.

Can you see St Helier on the St Aubin webcam?

Only at a distance. St Helier lies at the eastern end of the bay, and the far shore running toward it lines the horizon on a clear day, but the town and its harbor are too far away to make out in detail.

Can you walk to St Aubin’s Fort at low tide?

Yes. At low tide a causeway runs out to the fort from the road in front of the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club. The fort itself is a residential center for schools and youth groups and is not open to the public. The tide returns fast, so check the official Jersey tide times before you set out.

What is the weather like in St Aubin, Jersey?

Mild and maritime. Jersey Airport averages highs of 8.3°C (46.9°F) in January and 20.6°C (69.1°F) in August, with about 1,905 hours of sunshine and 866 millimeters (34.1 inches) of rain a year.

Source: The Panorama Guest House