AT A GLANCE
Why go?
La Coupée is a knife-edge ridge of sedimentary rock barely three metres wide and some ninety metres long, with a sheer drop close to 80 metres into the sea on either side. This narrow isthmus links Great Sark to its southern peninsula, Little Sark, in the Channel Islands—and the vertiginous, handrail-lined path has earned a reputation as one of the most photographed spots in the archipelago.↗↗↗
Crossing it remains a memorable experience: a walk along a concrete ribbon suspended between two great expanses of water, with steps cut into the cliff dropping down to La Grande Grève, Sark's largest and most popular beach. Beyond the drama, La Coupée is a working lifeline for the Little Sark community and a window onto centuries of island history—from haunted dirt tracks to a causeway rebuilt by prisoners of war.↗↗
A Ribbon of Rock Between Two Sarks
On most maps a 'coupée' is a cut, and the name fits. The sea has gnawed away the land on both flanks until all that remains connecting Little Sark to the rest of the island is a high, slender ridge. Wikipedia describes it as a narrow isthmus a mere three metres wide, roughly ninety metres long, with a drop close to 80 metres plunging to the sea on either side—a natural causeway that is slowly eroding and could one day leave Little Sark a separate island altogether.
