The Little Chapel, nestling in a picturesque valley in the landlocked parish of St Andrew, The Little Chapel is one of Guernsey’s most loved landmarks, renowned around the world. It remains a highly popular tourist destination to this day, and its striking décor and charm is always a real talking point. Brother Déodat, who came to Guernsey in the year 1904, built the chapel. His homeland of France had recently proscribed religious schools as part of their new anti-religious laws, so Déodat moved over to Guernsey to practice his faith away from potential persecution. Having purchased a plot of land at Les Vauxbelets, Déodat noticed a sloped piece of woodland where he wanted to build a small chapel reminiscent of the one in Lourdes. The first chapel he built was just 9 feet long and 4.5 feet wide, however it received so much criticism that Déodat demolished it overnight and began work on a new one. Four months later, the second version of the chapel was finished, and this one received a far better reception from Déodat’s peers. However, it only lasted 9 years, as the Bishop of Portsmouth was unable to fit through the door during his visit to the island in 1923. Again, he demolished and rebuilt the small grotto to have a larger opening. In the year 1939, Déodat returned to his homeland of France due to his deteriorating health. He passed on the task of decorating and maintaining the grotto to Brother Cephas, who took care of it until 1965 when he retired. The chapel fell somewhat derelict over the decade that followed, and in 1977 a committee was formed to restore and protect it. The chapel and its unique, intricate appeal gained national fame after an article accompanied with a colour photograph was published in the Daily Mirror, and it has since been considered one of, if not Guernsey’s most famous tourist attraction. It is thought to be the smallest consecrated church anywhere in the world. Today, the chapel falls under the care of the Little Chapel Foundation. The chapel remains totally free to visit and look around, and the maintenance is funded by kind donations by visitors, which the recent total refurbishment making sure that the Little Chapel will remain as one of Guernsey's iconic landmarks for many more years to come. A visit to the beautiful island of Guernsey simply would not be complete without visiting this iconic landmark, so begin planning your trip to the island and the Little Chapel today! HOW TO CLAIM YOUR SMILEY To claim this Virtual Cache, all the cacher has to do is go to the coordinates and take a photo of the Little Chapel, and sign the guestbook in the Chapel – there MUST be a unique photo for every cacher who claims this Virtual Cache, with either: Each cacher claiming this Virtual as an individual ‘selfie’, with the Little Chapel as the background, or….. ….. Each cacher claiming this Virtual as an individual ‘selfie’, with the Little Chapel as the background, but with a piece of paper (etc.), over their face that has their cacher name AND the date AND time written on it, or….. A photo of the GPS device as used by each cacher who is claiming this Virtual, the GPS device recording the fact that they are at the coordinates, this device being the foreground of a photo with the Little Chapel in the background. Any Logs that have either 1) no photo, or 2) photos that do not display either of the above criteria, will be deleted without notice. Screenshots of the locating icon at GZ will NOT be accepted.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.