The Swinge is the

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

between

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest ...

and

Burhou Burhou (pronounced ''ber-ROO'') is a small island about northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to August 1. The island's wildli ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. It often sees a furious

tidal race Tidal race or tidal rapid is a natural occurrence whereby a fast-moving tide passes through a constriction, resulting in the formation of waves, eddies and hazardous currents. The constriction can be a passage where the sides narrow, for example ...

(the

Alderney Race The Alderney Race is a strait that runs between Alderney and Cap de la Hague, a cape at the northwestern tip of the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. A strong current runs through the race north of the Passage de la Déroute, a treacherous passage s ...

), and

Braye Harbour Braye Harbour (also known as Alderney Harbour) is the main harbour on the north side of the island of Alderney, in the Channel Islands, a dependency of the British Crown. A breakwater was built by the Admiralty to protect the Navy in the 19t ...

which faces it, has a mile-long breakwater to cope with this. The

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the Swinge is probably

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

, related to Old Icelandic ''swinnr'' (swift, rapid)''Alderney Place Names'', Royston Raymond, 1999 Alderney Corbet Rock lies in the Swinge. Corbet Rock is said to have been named after the ancient Corbet family of the Channel Islands. The Little Swinge is between Burhou and Les Nannels. The Race is the strait on the other side of Alderney.

References

Geography of Alderney {{Guernsey-geo-stub