Lihou Island

Lihou is a small tidal island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It lies off the west coast of Guernsey and is the most westerly point in the Channel Islands. The island was bought by the States of Guernsey in January 1995. Lihou is connected to Guernsey at low tide by an ancient stone causeway between the island and L'Erée headland, it's bird and marine life makes it an important conservation area.

On the island are the ruins of the priory of St. Mary which is believed to have been established by Benedictine monks in the 12th century. The monks of the priory were by no means generally popular with the local people, who suspected them of devil worship.

The house on Lihou was used for target practice by heavy artillery during the German Occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. It has now been rebuilt as accommodation for school groups, and is used as an educational resource.

Vraic (seaweed) was harvested and dried on frames set up on the beach. A 1927 factory building produced iodine from seaweed. All traces of the industry disappeared during the German Occupation.

The Lihou family name is included in parish records which go back as far as the early 15th century and there are a number of groups who study the ancestry of the Lihous. More recently a group was set up using the social networking site Facebook that links Lihous around the world.
(Info courtesy of Wikipedia)