|
|
The
main road south from St John's, cutting through the very centre of
Antigua, first hits the coast at Falmouth Harbour. This large and
beautiful natural harbor has been used as a safe anchorage since the
days of the earliest colonists, and the town that sprang up beside it
was the first major settlement on the island. Today, though the harbor
is still often busy with yachts, Falmouth itself is a quiet place, most
of the activity in the area having moved east to English Harbour
and Nelson's Dockyard, divided from Falmouth Harbour by a small
peninsula known as the Middle Ground .
Explore Falmouth
Great Fort George
High above Falmouth, and offering terrific panoramic views over the
harbour and surrounding countryside, are the ruins of Great Fort
George (also known as Monk's Hill ), one of Antigua's oldest defences, built in the 1690s as a secure retreat for
Antigua's tiny
population.
|
These days the fort is in a very dilapidated state, but it's well worth
the effort to get there for the fabulous views and a quiet but evocative
sense of the island's past. Much of the enormous stone perimeter wall is
intact while, inside the main gate and to the right, the west gunpowder
magazine (built in 1731) has been well restored.
To
get to the fort you'll need a four-wheel-drive vehicle; the alternative
is a thirty-minute hike. A precipitous but passable track leads up from
the village of Cobbs Cross, east of Falmouth; alternatively, from
Liberta (north of Falmouth) take the inland road to Table Hill Gordon,
from where another track winds up to the fort
|
Caribbean guide
Antiqua
Travel Guide
Exploring Antigua
Barbuda:
Getting there
Beyond Cordrington
Great Fort George
Falmouth Harbour
River Fort
Cordrington
-
Falmouth and English
Harbour
Eating, drinking, nightlife
Falmouth
Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley
Heights,
Pigeon Beach
-
From Runaway Bay to Half
Moon Bay
Eating,
drinking, nightlife
Betty's Hope to Long Bay
Half Moon Bay
Runaway & Dickenson
Bay
-
St John’s
Getting around
St. John's
St John’s
Getting around
Eating and
drinking
Nightlife, casino, karaoke
Airlines, embassies
Exploring St. John's
Fort Bay
Fort James
Long Street
National Museum
Redcliffe
Quay
St. John's
Cathedral |
|
