Fort Tourgis is an extensive fortification and impressive structure at the northern end of Clonque Bay that is fun to poke around. Completed in 1855 it was designed to accommodate 346 men and was originally planned to be the largest of Alderney’s Victorian forts before Fort Albert was built to accommodate a British fleet to defend against the French navy. During the Nazi Occupation it was re-purposed to protect the sea route from Cherbourg to St Malo, and to resist potential British assault to recapture the islands.
Today, part of the northern defences of Fort Tourgis are open to the public who can explore the rooms and bunkers at their leisure and with their own torch. Cambridge Battery (No.2) is an excellent example of how the original Victorian fortifications were adapted by German forces in the Second World War, when Alderney became one of the most heavily fortified sections of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall.
