• Hog Bay Park is one of Bermuda’s best
parks with its blend of farmland, wild life
and ocean scenery.
• Gravestones at the Royal Naval Cemetery
tell sad stories of those who succumbed
to yellow fever or died by accident. One
inscribed “Killed by a fall from aloft, May 23
1871” inspired Bermuda’s well-known writer,
Brian Burland, to write his acclaimed novel
A Fall from Aloft.
The Sea Express Blue Route service leaves every
hour. Buses from and to Hamilton: Numbers 7and 8
SANDYS
Must Dos!
SANDYS
62EAT OUT BERMUDA
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Sandys
Sandys Parish, named after an early Virginia
Company investor, Sir Edwin Sandys, visually
reminds us that Bermuda is an archipelago since
it consists of five islands all linked by bridges.
The largest and most eastern is Somerset
Island whose bridge linking it to the main island
is said to be the smallest drawbridge in the
world. Somerset boasts some stunning
scenery, particularly around the mangrove
fringed Ely’s Harbour, Somerset Long Bay and
Mangrove Bay itself. Fort Scaur,
built in the 1860s, 70s and
90s to defend the Royal Naval
Dockyard from American invasion, is now a
park with well-kept trails. The fort is an excellent location
for viewing Ely’s Harbour, the Great Sound and, with the
help of the telescope mounted there, St. Catherine’s Fort
and St. David’s Lighthouse.
Ireland Island South has a number of picturesque areas,
including Black Bay and Parson’s Bay in Lagoon Park,
which stretches from Malabar Road to Lagoon Road.
The lagoon itself is a roosting stop for herons and egrets.
The Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island North is one
of Bermuda’s most popular attractions and is worth a whole day’s excursion.
Its name and the names of its roads and lanes—Freeport Road, Maritime Lane,
Camber Road, for example—as well as its large buildings, constructed out of
local stone by slaves and after Emancipation by convicts, remind us that Bermuda
was once the “Gibraltar of the West.” Today, Dockyard, as locals call it, has been
transformed from a British naval centre into a bustling community, complete with a
marina, a shopping mall, restaurants and an authentic British pub, as well as a number
of arts-related centres, including a pottery, a glassworks, craft market and arts centre.
The fortress itself was converted into a maritime museum in 1975 and
subsequently renamed the National Museum of Bermuda. It is well
worth a visit. Tickets also allow entrance to Commissioner’s House,
restored in the year 2000 as an additional heritage museum.
Commissioner’s House features many exhibits focussing on different
stages of Bermudian history. One room is devoted to a magnificent
mural by Graham Foster depicting the whole of Bermuda’s history. Atop
a steep hill, the house boasts panoramic views of the north and south
shores.
AT SOMERSET
LONG BAY
you may
behold the
beautiful Blue
dasher
dragonfly,
a native to
Bermuda.
HIBISCUS
SOMERSE T BRIDGE
SECTION OF THE
HALL OF HISTOR Y MURAL
BY GRAHAM FOSTER