A small set of sandy islands, located between Britain and France, disappear and remerge every single day. The Minquiers islands have a land area of around ten-by-seven miles, at low tide, making them larger than the city of Manchester. However, at high tide, they all but completely disappear, with just a few rocks poking through the surface of the water to signify their existence. Known by locals as the Minkies, these islands appear part rock, part desert-island in the middle of the ocean. They have also long been the subject of disputes between governments, Normans, Britons and the French.
Today, the islands are under the jurisdiction of Jersey and are a self-governing part of the British Isles, but not a part of the United Kingdom. There are no permanent residents on the islands, though fishermen and kayakers often visit them, especially during the summer season. At low tide, visitors can enjoy walking on the sand, and swimming around the habitat before the sea reclaims it. Many companies take visitors to the area, with different activities on offer. Amongst the Minquiers, nine miles off of the south coast of Jersey, there is a small shack that is the southernmost toilet in the British Isles.
It is located on Maîtresse Île, which is the largest and only vegetated isle. Maîtresse Île is also home to approximately 18 stone cottages, which were built by fishermen and quarrymen who lived on the island during summer months in the mid-19th century. In addition, the islands were the only British territory to endure German occupation during World War II. As a result, around 30,000 of the residents from the islands evacuated before the arrival of German forces at the end of June and beginning of July 1940. Later, in May 1945, the occupiers surrendered. The huts were then briefly abandoned following World War II and development of them started in the 1970s.
In August 2018, one of the twenty buildings on the islands was sold to private individuals using a Jersey company, however, only five sales have occurred in five decades. In 2019, individuals attempted to reclaim the island in the king's name and hoisted the Patagonian flag. They also reclaimed the toilet, painting the door blue, white and green and placed a new plaque on the toilet, declaring it the most "northerly" building in the Kingdom of Patagonia.
