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Published: February 13th 2023
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Martello Tower
White round building in the distance Today was forecast to be the sunniest, so of course it was the cloudiest, but with no rain. We were walking on the north-east coast, so it was also the windiest.
This was the day we successfully went to St George’s Island and the namesake city, which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. As we learned, it was so untouched because after the harbour facilities and the seat of government moved to Hamilton in the early 1800s, city development came to a halt – to the extent that the Anglican Church being built with English funds was left unfinished, i.e., without a roof or furnishings. During the US Civil War, there was an economic revival, because the blockade runners were supplied from St George’s. When the South lost, economic collapse again, until World War Two, when the US had a base here. It was closed ten years ago. A far-sighted City Manager (whom we happened to meet) and the mayor (whom we also happened to meet) started the effort to rehabilitate the city buildings in a conservationist manner. The World Heritage designation is for the city’s relatively untouched historic character.
We got to St George's by a long walk which
Prickly Pear
Attractive fleshy fruit started at the historic military defense, the original entrance to the inland harbour. By standing on the nineteenth century Martello tower, we could see both the eighteenth and seventeenth century fortifications, each on adjacent small islands. The older forts were in ruins, but the Martello tower could be used today with some minor improvements.
We made our way to the remainder of the northern portion of the Railway Trails, stopping for a moment to see prickly pears with fruit. The path was right on the shoreline, so we were treated to spectacular deep-turquoise waves crashing on wet black rocks. For lunch we stopped at a height of land to continue the visual feast – accompanied by gourmet sandwiches.
After a short walk, we entered St George's, passing buildings that were houses at street level, with warehouses behind and below at water level. Tim pointed out a small clapboard house, a style brought to the island by West Indians in the early twentieth century. Wood houses are now uninsurable, because the Bermudian standard is a stone house, with much reduce fire hazard. A more lasting architectural feature from the West Indies was the wood lattice porch.
Tim led
Warehouses
Used for blockade running during the US Civil
War us around the town, pointing out the many buildings erected in 1620, only a short time after the siting of the original fort in 1609. Arlene and I had our pictures taken at the recreated stocks and pillory in the town square, where the original fort had been .
We went to
St Peter’s Anglican Church , where an old church member told us the history of the church. She told us it was the oldest continuously operating Anglican church west of England, because they never closed during extensions and renovation. In the early days, when Bermuda was owned by the
Virginia Company , the government and court also used it as the only permanent building.
We then had 45 minutes on our own. I took some pictures, checked out the bookshop and a gallery of prints. Then it was time to go. A very nice taxi driver (they are all friendly) took us on the northern road so we would have a different experience from our morning drive to the island.
Back at the hotel, Ruth and I independently decided to check out the beach, which is down a long set of stairs. Unfortunately, the beach is no longer there
(false advertising) due to the ravages of
Hurricane Fabian in September 2003. I came in a swimsuit, so I clambered into the nearby hot tub. Ruth went back to change and joined me for the sunset.
Dinner: spicy fish chowder with dark rum, an enormous seafood linguini, and black forest cake. I’ll need to do more than walking at this rate!
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