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The south coast is the liveliest part of the island with deep sandy beaches, wall-to-wall hotels for those on a lower budget, watersports and nightlife. Entertainment here is less ‘tasteful’ than on the west coast, more boisterous, with reggae and steel pan music thumping on every corner, but that needn’t stop you liming (chilling) with the locals under a shady tree. Bridgetown, the capital, is the commercial heart of the island. The Careenage, where shipping used to dock, is the focal point of the city and most of the older buildings are clustered around the waterway. Nowadays catamarans and fishing boats for day trips tie up in front of bars and restaurants while old warehouses are being converted to other uses. Broad Street is stuffed with jewellers, boutiques, department stores and duty-free shops but for a more Bajan feel stroll along Swan Street where the locals do their shopping. The architecture is a mix of Victorian and 20th-century ranging from the Parliament Buildings to the Tom Adams Financial Centre, liberally sprinkled with gothic churches, cathedrals and a synagogue. North of the city along the coast is the Deep Water Harbour, where massive cruise ships dock, dominating the skyline and disgorging their cargo into the town. The Kensington Oval near here is a mecca for all cricket lovers. The site of some of the most exciting international matches, it attracts an enthusiastic and noisy crowd who cheer and jeer the players to a cacophony of whistles, drums and calypso. To the south of the town is Carlisle Bay, the best anchorage on the island, where yachts seek refuge from the ocean, just as they have done for centuries. Many ships have ended their lives here and this is a prime wreck diving site. Bay Street runs along Carlisle Bay to reach the Garrison Savannah, an area of major historical significance. During the colonial era the British military stationed here built grand fortresses, batteries and signal stations in addition to their domestic buildings and a prison. What was once the parade ground is now a race track, popular with early morning joggers and fitness fanatics but transformed on race days when it is packed with noisy crowds, horses, jockeys and trainers. The Barbados Museum is here, together with the Barbados Gallery of Art, the National Cannon Collection and Bush Hill House, now named George Washington House in honour of the US President who lived here briefly as a teenager. Inland you discover the reason for Barbados’ colonization by the British. Swathes of sugar cane can be found on the rolling hills and the southern flatlands – this remains the major agricultural crop. The fertile soil has produced sugar for 360 years and the landscape still reflects plantation life, founded on the backs of slaves. Narrow, twisty roads wind between the fields, snaking their way from one village to another. Grand plantation houses dot the countryside, together with signal stations on strategic high points. These were built to give warning of any slave revolt but were rendered obsolete by the telephone and are now tourist attractions. Everywhere there are lush gardens, whether they are small patches in front of a chattel house or acres of land surrounding a former mansion. Flowers grow profusely and are a gardener’s dream. The west coast, also known as the Platinum coast, is lined with luxury villas, hotels and apartments, interspersed with a few lodgings for those of more modest means. This is the place to see and be seen, mingle with the rich and famous and do a bit of name dropping and spotting. It is one long, but narrow, stretch of golden sand running around bays and coves and overhung with picture book coconut palms and casuarina trees for shade. The north is wilder still with a dramatic coastline of cliffs and caves gouged out by booming waves, exhilarating on a rough day. Even here, however, there are rocky coves where you can rummage around in pools or find a spot for a picnic when the weather is calmer. The island may not be mountainous, there are no volcanoes or rainforest, but there are some dramatic views over the Scotland District where the coral limestone has collapsed in cliffs and gullies before falling away into the sea. Everything changes on the east coast and the pace of life drops considerably. This wild and deserted shore, buffeted by Atlantic winds and eroded by the ocean waves, is where surfing, hiking and beachcombing are the main attractions. Clearly the fresh air and exercise has a soporific effect because there is no nightlife to speak of, but compenstaed by the fact that the most beautiful part of the island, the Scotland District, is on the east coast.
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