The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out northwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Channel Islands. The peninsula lies wholly within the département of Manche, in the région of Basse-Normandie.The Mont Saint-Michel, Tombelaine, Chausey, the Minquiers, Jersey, the Ecréhous, Sark, Guernsey, Alderney, Pelée Island, Tatihou, Saint-Marcouf… some of these islands are French, whereas others belong to the British Crown. Why and for how long? Are they all inhabited? What language is spoken there? How are they governed? The answers to all of these questions and many more are provided by Edmond Thin, renowned for his many works on Normandy’s maritime history, together with an insight into the people, the history and the most spectacular sites to be seen on these charismatic islands which form an extraordinary archipelago around the Cotentin peninsula.