Work begins to clear fallen trees from Guernsey's Reservoir Walk

Islanders will have to wait until mid-April to once again walk around the reservoir, as storm cleanup begins.

On 8 January 2026, the Channel Islands were hit by Storm Goretti.

Guernsey had gusts up to 84mph overnight, and the island woke to find widespread damage.

More than two months on, in March, Guernsey's tree surgeons are still busy clearing fallen and unstable trees.

Four teams have been chosen to spend the next five weeks restoring the Millennium Walk.

The popular trail around St Saviour’s Reservoir was closed by Guernsey Water after the storm because fallen trunks and hanging branches made it unsafe.

Tree surgeons from Special Branch have been working there in recent days using saws, climbing gear and catapults - these allow a tree limb to be pulled loose by a rope, instead of climbing the tree.

Business owner Simon Marshall says it is a difficult area to work in.

"The trees and the walkways are quite close together and bringing in heavy chipping equipment on tractors and Land Rovers, it's not ideal for the rest of the trees, because that tends to sort of compress the roots, so we try and just do environmental stacks, you know, that'll rot down in time, which will be good for the insects and stuff.

"It would be nice to have a bit of horsepower in here, but you know, it is what it is."

He says the walk will look a little different when it reopens.

"We're cutting them (fallen trees) into rings, we'll lay them along the path and try and make some sort of feature.

"The bigger trunks we're just going to leave for the kids to climb over and have some fun, and then brush piles, and then pine cone piles

"Hopefully, people will be able to have some good pine cone hunting in a few weeks."

Simon says closing the walk was the safe choice.

"The hanging branches that are up there are the really dangerous ones.

"Pine branches, once they break, they're very teary, so they may look like they're fine up there, but it won't take much for them to twist and all of a sudden go, and if one of them hits someone, it would not be ideal.

"I think Guernsey Water not opening this until we are all finished so that people can enjoy the walk the whole way around, is definitely the best thing to do."

@islandfm The buzz of chainsaws around St Saviour marks the start of a major clean-up on the Reservoir Walk after Storm Goretti. 🌳 Teams are removing fallen and unstable trees, with work expected to take around five weeks. #guernsey #channelislands #storm #nature ♬ original sound - Island FM