People assume Bermuda is in the Caribbean. In fact, it is almost 1,000 miles to the northeast, isolated deep in the Atlantic Ocean, about the level of Charleston in South Carolina.
However, its British connections feel even stronger than in most of the Caribbean.
Perhaps that’s because cops still wear police helmets (at certain times) to direct traffic; Locals play cricket and the remote settlement is officially a British Overseas Territory run 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 enticed visitors for eons.
When my plane lands on the archipelago comprising 181 islands (although the largest are linked by bridges to form a main landform about 24 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’s capital, Hamilton.
My arrival coincides with a four-day carnival in June, although any time of year is pleasant to visit. The temperature is 23 to 27 °C in October and rarely falls below 18 to 20 °C.
Bermuda was once known as Devil’s Island, due to its fierce storms, screaming seabirds and treacherous coral reefs. The storms caused many shipwrecks (which is why it is known as the “Bermuda Triangle”) and today Bermuda is home to more than 300 shipwrecks offering spectacular diving and snorkeling opportunities.
Staying at the elegant Rosewood Bermuda, I board the hotel’s 32-foot catamaran for a snorkeling cruise and spend a morning floating in turquoise waters among bright green parrotfish and multicolored corals. Back on land, I head to the nearby Crystal and Fantasy Caves, two of the island’s star attractions.
Party time: Katja arrives on the island during an annual carnival held every June (file image)
Elements of British life can be found on the island, such as the red telephone boxes seen here.
The next day we headed to St George, the oldest continuously inhabited English town in America. Here we visited the unfinished Gothic church and the Tucker House. The latter was the home of Colonel Henry Tucker, who managed to supply gunpowder to the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Afterwards, Wahoo’s Bistro is perfect for a tasty fish sandwich made with fried wahoo and topped with tartar sauce and coleslaw.
Taxis are one way to get around Bermuda, but a Renault Twizy, a two-seater electric microcar, is much more fun. Hopping on one I 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 12-acre park.
“Bermuda’s pink beaches, turquoise waters and sherbet-colored houses have been seducing visitors for centuries,” writes Katja
In St George, the oldest continuously inhabited English town in America, Katja visits the unfinished Gothic church (pictured)
Hamilton, the capital, is a must-see for its boutiques, botanical gardens and rainbow-coloured Front Street, where restaurants and bars bustle into the early hours.
A visit to the western tip of the main island, where the Bermuda Railway begins, is the last pleasure of the day. Between 1931 and 1948, the ‘Old Rattle and Shake’ transported islanders along the coast. Today, 18 of the railroad’s original 22 miles have been transformed into a walking and biking trail with sublime views.
Later, it’s cocktail hour at the Swizzle Inn, which serves “the best” (according to owner Jay Correia), powerful Rum Swizzle cocktails.