Great Britain – in paradise! Inside Bermuda, the island of pink beaches, turquoise waters, impressive shipwrecks – and familiar trappings of British life
People assume that Bermuda is in the Caribbean. In fact, it lies nearly 1,000 miles to the northeast, deeply isolated in the Atlantic Ocean, about the height of Charleston, South Carolina.
Yet British connections feel even stronger than in most of the Caribbean.
Maybe that’s because police officers still wear bobbie helmets (at certain times) to direct traffic; The locals play cricket and the remote settlement is officially a British Overseas Territory governed by a governor appointed by the king. It is the oldest of the 14 Overseas Territories and dates back to the early 17th century.
Bermuda’s pink beaches, turquoise waters and sherbet-colored houses have been seducing visitors for centuries.
As my plane touches down the archipelago made up of 181 islands – although the largest are connected by bridges and form a main landform about 25 miles long and a mile wide – the party begins.
Colors of the rainbow: Katja Gaskell explores Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Above, Front Street in the island capital of Hamilton
My arrival coincides with a four-day carnival in June, although any time of year is pleasant to visit. It is 23-27c in October and rarely drops below 18-20c.
Bermuda was once known as the Isle of Devils, due to fierce storms, screeching seabirds and treacherous coral reefs. The storms caused many shipwrecks (which is why it is sometimes called the ‘Bermuda Triangle’) and today Bermuda is home to more than 300 wrecks that offer spectacular diving and snorkeling opportunities.
Staying in chic Rosewood Bermuda, I board the hotel’s 35-foot catamaran for a snorkeling cruise and spend a morning floating in turquoise waters among bright green parrotfish and multicolored coral. Back on dry land I head to the nearby Crystal and Fantasy Caves, two of the island’s main attractions.
Party time: Katja arrives on the island during an annual carnival held every June (file image)
The island is home to artefacts of British life, such as the red telephone boxes you see here
The next day we go to St George, the oldest continuously inhabited English town in America. Here we visit the Gothic unfinished church and the Tucker House. The latter was once home to Colonel Henry Tucker, who supplied gunpowder to the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Afterwards, Wahoo’s Bistro is ideal for a tasty fish sandwich with fried wahoo and topped with tartar sauce and coleslaw.
Taxis are one way to explore Bermuda, but a Renault Twizy, a two-seater electric micro car, is much more fun. I jump in and head to Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve, where chef Doreen Williams-James, who uses native fruits, vegetables and herbs in her cooking, offers a foraging tour of the 30-acre park.
“Bermuda’s pink beaches, turquoise waters and sorbet-colored houses have been attracting visitors for centuries,” writes Katja
In St George, the oldest continuously inhabited English town in America, Katja visits the Gothic unfinished church (photo)
Hamilton, the capital, is a must visit for its boutiques, botanical gardens and rainbow-colored Front Street, where restaurants and bars buzz until the early hours.
A visit to the western tip of the main island, where the Bermuda Railway Trail begins, is a treat on the last day. Between 1931 and 1948, the ‘Old Rattle and Shake’ transported islanders along the coastline. Today, 18 of the original 35 kilometers of the railway have been transformed into a walking and cycling path with sublime views.
Later, it’s cocktail time at the Swizzle Inn, which serves “the best” (according to owner, Jay Correia) strong Rum Swizzle cocktails.
