The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: August eighth, enjoying the cream of Guernsey.

This week, we've been visiting the Channel Islands, five tiny bits of Britain that cling to France's Atlantic shoulder.

Guernsey is a three cornered, wedge-shaped island roughly ten miles on a side. Its southern coast is lined by steep bluffs that rise from the open ocean, their gorse covered flanks serrated by a clutch of narrow coves. A splendid trail weaves among the coves, coastering from cliff edge to rocky beach. Renoir walked these paths and painted, with the ever undulating Atlantic a constant companion.

From this high ridge, Guernsey slopes to the north in sandy hills and dales latticed by narrow, stonewall- lined country lanes defining tiny fields and great estates. The long west coast is characterized by sweeps of sandy beach and low, rocky fingers pointing at the sea.

St. Peter Port, Guernsey's primary town, lies along the island's eastern end, an array of narrow avenues and alleys that arc across the hillside and drain into the tidy harbor. The neat stone buildings along its esplanade were once warehouses for fishing fleets. Now they house international financial conglomerates, tiny historical museums, art galleries and a range of restaurants. Ranks of sail boats bob in the pierside marinas, except when low tide leaves them high and dry.

For centuries, Guernsey's sunlit setting and slow, subtle charms have attracted summer visitors, as well as citizens disgruntled with their country's policies. One exile was Victor Hugo, who lived in St. Peter Port for a decade. Hauteville House, his revealing residence, is high on Guernsey's list of off-beat attractions. It's a long list indeed.

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