Historian to put Guernsey on the map

Monday 13 May 2019

TV presenter and historian Dan Snow has been in the island, creating a series of small films for Visit Guernsey as part of the Heritage Festival.

It was his first trip to the island since childhood but Mr Snow posted several updates saying it would certainly not be his last.

Special guests involved in preserving the island's heritage were invited to the Old Government House hotel to see the historian and explorer speak about his lifetime of adventure. It marked the end of his visit to Guernsey in which he first learnt of our links to Victor Hugo and managed to sample plenty of Guernsey gin on Liberation Day. 

Visit Guernsey approached him to see if he would be willing to create some films for the Visit Guernsey website. He said so far it has been a true journey of discovery. 

"I'm really passionate and I'm lucky to travel all over. What I enjoy most though is the beauty of these islands we live in, we have the best history, it explains why I am who I am and I love showing my children the place in which they come from. 

"I remember coming here as a child and being on long stretches of coastline, typical British summer holiday sort of things. We're often talking about the history of the islands but I didn't even know until this trip or the Little Chapel," he said. 

To see the films we are making in Guernsey please head to https://t.co/rwVBit46wU

Enter code '3for3' and get your first 3 months for £3/$3 pic.twitter.com/O39gmdGi0O

— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) May 9, 2019

A relative of Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow and married into British aristocracy - Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor - he has previously said in interviews that he is lucky not to have to "grind it out" on speaking arrangements fund his lifestyle and projects.

The renowned presenter of dozens of prime time documentaries, many of them focussed on World War Two, said the island's military history was on of the main draws for his trip to the island. 

"I met some really knowledgable local people who are really into their subject which is great," he said. 

As well as history specific trips, Mr Snow said he managed to catch some downtime celebrating among locals on Liberation Day and island hopping some of which he shared with his 271,000 followers on twitter. 

Sunrise and showing off in Herm. pic.twitter.com/Ui0mqifpui

— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) May 10, 2019

"I've never seen a nicer bay as Belvoir Bay in Herm with the sun coming up. I live nearby in the Solent, as soon as the weather's fine I'll be back on the water and down here, you bet I'll be back," he said. 

Some of the material gathered on this trip will be used in Mr Snow's popular History Hit podcast as well as his digital TV channel of the same name. 

The Guernsey Heritage Festival ran from 19 April - 10 May and is now in its third year. You can watch some of Visit Guernsey's live streams from the trip on their Facebook page as below.