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Introduction
HAMILTON: The colony’s capital city, situated at the end of Bermuda’s Great Sound on the inner curve of the ‘fish hook’ is an interesting place to explore. Here, between Parliament Street and Court Street, is the Cabinet Building where the Senate – the Upper House of Bermuda’s Parliament – meets. The Lower Chamber of Parliament is housed in the Sessions House in Hamilton and is open to the public. Front Street is Hamilton’s main street which runs along the water’s edge from Albuoy’s Point, site of the Ferrydock and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, to King Street in the east. Located on Queen Street in Hamilton is Perot’s Post Office. The Perot stamp, Bermuda’s first postage stamp, was printed by Bermuda’s Postmaster from 1818 to 1862. In the summer months there are usually up to three cruise ships moored at the city’s piers. Ferry trips are available round Hamilton Harbour, and also longer cruises to Great Sound and the rural village of Somerset. The restored 19th-century Fort Hamilton welcomes visitors to its formidable ramparts, cannon, underground web of limestone tunnels and spectacular view of Hamilton. In Hamilton parish is the Bermuda Aquarium, Natural History Museum and Zoo, based at Flatts Village.
ELSEWHERE: In Somerset, on the western end of the island, Fort Scaur is a good place to picnic, fish, swim and enjoy the panoramic view of the picturesque Great Sound.
At the far eastern end of the chain of islands is the 17th-century town of St George, Bermuda’s first capital, founded in 1612. It has been the focus of considerable recent restoration; today, the town’s narrow winding lanes and historic landmarks appear much as they did more than three centuries ago. At the corner of Duke of Clarence Street and Featherbed Alley is a working model of a 17th-century printing press. Also to be seen are the Confederate Museum, a hotel for Confederate officers during America’s Civil War; the Stocks & Pillory; and the replica of the ‘Deliverance’, one of Bermuda’s first ships. St George also has many excellent pubs, restaurants and shops. Gates Fort, which dates back to 1620, is built on a promontory overlooking the sea and offers a spectacular view of the ocean and harbour. Nearby is Fort St Catherine, built in 1622, the largest and one of the most fascinating of the island’s fortifications. At the very tip of Bermuda, on the western side, is Ireland Island, with a Maritime Museum which displays relics of sunken wrecks and the neo-classical buildings of the Royal Naval Dockyard. Two of the best known caves are Crystal Caves and Leamington Caves, made up of sprawling underground systems and crystalline tidal pools. They are open daily in season. The best view of the island is from Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse, in Southampton parish. Two notable churches on the island include Old Devonshire Church and St Peter’s Church, on Duke of York Street in old St George. Everywhere on the island there are circles of stone, called Moongates, a design brought to Bermuda in the 1800s by a sea captain who had seen them on a voyage to China. Oriental legend has it that honeymooners should walk through them and make a wish.
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