Bewitching Barbados
Barbados is a Jekyll and Hyde among islands – but not in a bad way. It merely has two faces, utterly distinct, but equally mesmerising.
The west coast is picture-postcard Barbados, a ribbon of soda-white sand, lapped by the bath-warm Caribbean Sea and fringed with palm trees, luxury hotels, boutiques and restaurants. This is the Caribbean of golf carts, leisure slacks and elaborate cocktails, exquisite seafood, spas and sun loungers.
The east is another country. Here, Scotland District is a wild and rugged landscape of rolling green hills that slide into the darker and more unforgiving Atlantic Ocean. The beaches here are otherworldly and empty, trampled by ‘white horses’ and whipped up by the east wind.
Only 10 miles of winding road separates Bathsheba, site of the east’s most enchanting beach, and Holetown, where English settlers rst landed in 1625 and now a chi-chi stop-off halfway up the glamorous west coast. But they are worlds apart. This diversity is the island’s unique appeal.
We stayed in the west, near charming Holetown, at the Royal Westmoreland estate. Surrounded by exquisite landscaped gardens and an immaculate golf course, the beautiful villas and apartments here are available to buy, or rent through the resort.
Quiet, private and luxurious, they are perfect for families, or celebrities who are seeking to escape the paparazzi. There is a spa, a health club and a pretty beach.
Barbados is safe and easy to get around. In fact, it’s the perfect place to hire a car, which allows you to meander along the west’s swanky seaside strip, before exploring the hidden nooks, crannies and isolated villages that make the east so magical.
Heading north from the Royal Westmoreland, we stopped for a simple lunch of seafood, rice and beans in sleepy Speightstown, the island’s second biggest town. Mass tourism has yet to reach this far north, and it retains a tumbledown mystique, evocative of its 17th- and 18th-century heyday, when it was a busy port linking the island with England and was widely known as ‘Little Bristol’.
The landscape empties as you head further north. But at the island’s northernmost tip, tourists gather to visit the Animal Flower Cave, a picturesque grotto carved into the cli face by the waves and lled with rock pools – and the odd sea anemone. But this is really just a pit stop before continuing your drive back south, along the east coast.
Few tourists stay on this wild shore, but everyone should visit. It is, after all, the Caribbean’s Little Scotland, from the landscape and the parish names (St Andrew), to its history. In fact, many of the area’s earliest settlers were Scottish, banished here by Oliver Cromwell, and there’s still an annual Celtic festival.
One of the island's many immaculate golf courses
The small town of Bathsheba, clustered around a beautiful, churning bay known as the ‘soup bowl’ – these are waters for surfers, rather than swimmers – is a highlight, as are the Andromeda Botanical Gardens, a haven for hummingbirds, hibiscus and horticulturalists. Church lovers should also make the short journey south to the cliff top St John’s Parish Church.
The west, meanwhile, is ideal for luxury lounging, relaxation and unabashed pampering. All of the beaches are accessible to the public and, while narrow, are uniformly picturesque. This is also the place to nd most of the island’s upmarket restaurants.
It’s certainly worth seeking out Lobster Alive, a ramshackle, beachside venue just south of the capital Bridgetown. As the name suggests, it specialises in great shell sh and particularly good jazz evenings – and I don’t even like jazz. For an even livelier experience, Friday is Fish Fry night in the southern town of Oistins, when Bajans (as the people of Barbados are known) and tourists alike come together for a delicious seafood carnival.
Rum is another national pastime, and you can drink it in bars and shacks up and down the island until your teeth oat. A cionados, however, should visit the Mount Gay Rum Factory – www. mountgayrum.com – that is just a short drive from Bridgetown’s busy centre. Regular tours are o ered, culminating, of course, in a generous tasting.
There are fabulous highlights o shore, too, from sunset catamaran cruises to shing and snorkelling. We visited some of the best dive sites with the brilliant Eco Dive – www.ecodive barbados.com – including Carlisle Bay, where you can explore six shipwrecks in calm, clear water. The main draw, however, is the dramatic, haunting wreck of the SS Stavronikita, a 365ftlong Greek freighter, which sank here in 1978, and is now home to a wonderfully colourful menagerie of marine life.
Barbados is small, just 430 square kilometres. But then that is part of its charm – it makes its remarkable diversity all the more accessible.
A three-bedroom Royal Villa at Royal Westmoreland, which sleeps six, costs from £385 per villa per night, self-catering. Larger villas for bigger groups are also available. Reservations: 01524-888231. For property sales, contact 01524-884370, www.royalwestmoreland.com
The west coast is picture-postcard Barbados, a ribbon of soda-white sand, lapped by the bath-warm Caribbean Sea and fringed with palm trees, luxury hotels, boutiques and restaurants. This is the Caribbean of golf carts, leisure slacks and elaborate cocktails, exquisite seafood, spas and sun loungers.
The east is another country. Here, Scotland District is a wild and rugged landscape of rolling green hills that slide into the darker and more unforgiving Atlantic Ocean. The beaches here are otherworldly and empty, trampled by ‘white horses’ and whipped up by the east wind.
Only 10 miles of winding road separates Bathsheba, site of the east’s most enchanting beach, and Holetown, where English settlers rst landed in 1625 and now a chi-chi stop-off halfway up the glamorous west coast. But they are worlds apart. This diversity is the island’s unique appeal.
We stayed in the west, near charming Holetown, at the Royal Westmoreland estate. Surrounded by exquisite landscaped gardens and an immaculate golf course, the beautiful villas and apartments here are available to buy, or rent through the resort.
Quiet, private and luxurious, they are perfect for families, or celebrities who are seeking to escape the paparazzi. There is a spa, a health club and a pretty beach.
Barbados is safe and easy to get around. In fact, it’s the perfect place to hire a car, which allows you to meander along the west’s swanky seaside strip, before exploring the hidden nooks, crannies and isolated villages that make the east so magical.
Heading north from the Royal Westmoreland, we stopped for a simple lunch of seafood, rice and beans in sleepy Speightstown, the island’s second biggest town. Mass tourism has yet to reach this far north, and it retains a tumbledown mystique, evocative of its 17th- and 18th-century heyday, when it was a busy port linking the island with England and was widely known as ‘Little Bristol’.
The landscape empties as you head further north. But at the island’s northernmost tip, tourists gather to visit the Animal Flower Cave, a picturesque grotto carved into the cli face by the waves and lled with rock pools – and the odd sea anemone. But this is really just a pit stop before continuing your drive back south, along the east coast.
Few tourists stay on this wild shore, but everyone should visit. It is, after all, the Caribbean’s Little Scotland, from the landscape and the parish names (St Andrew), to its history. In fact, many of the area’s earliest settlers were Scottish, banished here by Oliver Cromwell, and there’s still an annual Celtic festival.
One of the island's many immaculate golf coursesThe small town of Bathsheba, clustered around a beautiful, churning bay known as the ‘soup bowl’ – these are waters for surfers, rather than swimmers – is a highlight, as are the Andromeda Botanical Gardens, a haven for hummingbirds, hibiscus and horticulturalists. Church lovers should also make the short journey south to the cliff top St John’s Parish Church.
The west, meanwhile, is ideal for luxury lounging, relaxation and unabashed pampering. All of the beaches are accessible to the public and, while narrow, are uniformly picturesque. This is also the place to nd most of the island’s upmarket restaurants.
It’s certainly worth seeking out Lobster Alive, a ramshackle, beachside venue just south of the capital Bridgetown. As the name suggests, it specialises in great shell sh and particularly good jazz evenings – and I don’t even like jazz. For an even livelier experience, Friday is Fish Fry night in the southern town of Oistins, when Bajans (as the people of Barbados are known) and tourists alike come together for a delicious seafood carnival.
Rum is another national pastime, and you can drink it in bars and shacks up and down the island until your teeth oat. A cionados, however, should visit the Mount Gay Rum Factory – www. mountgayrum.com – that is just a short drive from Bridgetown’s busy centre. Regular tours are o ered, culminating, of course, in a generous tasting.
There are fabulous highlights o shore, too, from sunset catamaran cruises to shing and snorkelling. We visited some of the best dive sites with the brilliant Eco Dive – www.ecodive barbados.com – including Carlisle Bay, where you can explore six shipwrecks in calm, clear water. The main draw, however, is the dramatic, haunting wreck of the SS Stavronikita, a 365ftlong Greek freighter, which sank here in 1978, and is now home to a wonderfully colourful menagerie of marine life.
Barbados is small, just 430 square kilometres. But then that is part of its charm – it makes its remarkable diversity all the more accessible.
A three-bedroom Royal Villa at Royal Westmoreland, which sleeps six, costs from £385 per villa per night, self-catering. Larger villas for bigger groups are also available. Reservations: 01524-888231. For property sales, contact 01524-884370, www.royalwestmoreland.com