Barbados - Holetown and around Travel Guides | Barbados | Sub Regions | Barbados - Holetown and around

Holetown today is a thoroughly modern town but it was the place where the earliest settlers landed on 17 February 1627. The Holetown monument commemorates Captain John Powell claiming the island for England and the first landing of Englishmen from the Olive Blossom in July 1605. A secondary plaque marks the 350th anniversary of the first permanent settlement in 1627. Initially named Jamestown, it was renamed Holetown because of a tidal hole near the beach. It was quite heavily defended until after the Napoleonic Wars, though little trace of the forts can mow be seen.

Sights

There is a small shopping centre on the main road, with a supermarket, internet kiosk, bank and other services. Opposite is the police station, post office and a small museum (which is not always open due to staff shortages). There’s access to the beach between the police station and the Sunswept Hotel. Here the sand is swept every morning while the early risers are jogging or walking their dogs. Holetown is overloaded with restaurants and bistros and even with a two-week stay here you’d be pushed to try them all. Most of them are along 1st Street and 2nd Street, and both are convenient to stroll along and see what takes your fancy. Just south of the shopping centre is the Chattel Village, a group of replica traditional chattel houses, all brightly painted, containing boutiques, a gourmet food shop, a paper shop and a café. South again is Sunset Crest, another shopping area with a small fruit and veg market, an excellent internet café and banks. During the Holetown Festival in February, the roadside along this stretch of Highway 1 is crammed with people attracted by an open-air market for arts and crafts, helped along with tempting local food and drink, while the road itself is a parade ground.

North end of town, over the bridge on the left. Sun services 0730, 0900. Daily 0800-1800.

Originally built of wood in 1628, the church was replaced by a light coral stone structure in 1680 which was then extended 20 ft west in 1874 when columns and arches were added and the nave roof raised. You can see the original baptismal font (1684) under the belfry and in the north porch is the original bell (1696). Many of the original settlers are buried here (although the oldest tombstone of William Balston who died in 1659 is in the Barbados Museum). Church documents dating to 1693 have been moved to the Department of Archives. There are several photos of registers, with many deaths attributed to the smallpox epidemic of 1695-96. There is a lovely stained glass window depicting the Ascension, which was dedicated in 1924 in memory of the fallen in the First World War and paid for with public donations of B$400. The church was beautifully restored between 1983-86. On the front pew is a plaque to the President of the USA and Mrs Reagan, who worshipped here on Easter Sunday, 11 April 1982.

On the beach behind the church. Museum, T 4222314 Park, museum and shop daily 0900-1700. Museum B$1.15; ticket from adjacent shop.

What is now Folkestone was once part of Porter’s Plantation, owned for several generations by the Alleyne family, who were stalwart members of the plantocracy and political elite. The 18th century Folkestone House was marked on the 1825 Barrallier map and was built for the Alleyne family. The name celebrates the marriage in 1751 of Rebecca Alleyne (born 1725) to the Honourable William Bouverie, second Lord Folkestone, and was previously known as Church Point House.

The Marine Reserve stretches for 2 km from Coral Reef to Sandy Lane Hotel, including Dottin’s Reef and Vauxhall Reef, but here at Folkestone Park you can snorkel in a large area enclosed by buoys. The reef is not in pristine condition but it is surprisingly rewarding as there are quite a lot of fish and you may see turtles. The hawksbill turtle frequently nests on local beaches from July to October, while leatherbacks are occasionally found nesting from February to June. Catamaran tours come up from Bridgetown for snorkelling sessions with the turtles just north of here at Alleyne’s Bay. The beach is not great at Folkestone but it is always crowded with people taking advantage of safe swimming and snorkelling in the cordoned off sea. Weekends are busy with families bringing enormous picnics and barbecues, cheerfully setting up home around the picnic benches which are under the trees. There is a lifeguard and the usual vendors and hair braiders, but no hassling. Equipment is for hire Monday to Saturday 0900-1700: sunbeds US$5; life jackets US$3; snorkelling equipment US$10 and dive/snorkelling flags are US$3. There are also glass bottomed boats to take you over the reef to two small wrecks further down the coast (US$10). A diving platform about 100 m offshore allows you to snorkel over the wrecks. There are lockers for B$2, toilets and a shower, all of limited efficiency. The museum is tiny, but a guide will take you upstairs in the main building to show you some dusty exhibits, with shells and fish in jars, a video of marine life along the US seaboard (not Barbados), then let you into the museum itself. There could be a lot more on underwater life – the whole thing looks tired and underfunded.

Inland beside the Portvale Sugar Factory off Highway 2a, north of Lawrence Johnson roundabout and parish church of St Thomas. T 4320100. Mon-Sat 0900-1700. US$7.50 when factory is running Feb-May, US$4 the rest of the time, children half price.

The museum is in the old buildings beside the factory and is one of those special places which looks unprepossessing but is a treasure trove if you delve into it. Sir Frank Hutson amassed this large collection of machinery and the National Trust now administers it. The exhibition, on the story of sugar and its products, is fascinating for anyone interested in the history of Barbados but a guided tour is recomm- ended. The curator, Douglas Corbyn, is tremendously informative and there’s nothing he doesn’t know on the subject. Jars of excellent molasses and sugar syrup are for sale, scrumptious on pancakes or ice cream and highly recommended. During the cane-grinding season you can visit the factory to see sugar being produced.

Highway 2, directly east of Holetown, St Thomas. T 4386671. Daily, 0900-1700. US$6, children US$3.

This is a fascinating walk through one of the deep ravines so characteristic of this part of Barbados. You are at the edge of the limestone cap which covers most of the island to a depth of about 300 ft. Maintained by the National Trust, a good path leads for about half a mile through six sections, each with a slightly different theme. The first section has a devil tree, a stand of bamboo and a judas tree. The next section goes through jungle, lots of creepers, the ’pop-a-gun’ tree and bearded fig clinging to the cliff (note the stalactites and stalagmites), and then through a section devoted to palms and ferns finally the path leads to open areas with tall leafy mahogany trees, rock balsam and mango trees. At the end of the walk are ponds with lots of frogs and toads. Best of all though is the wonderful view to the coast. On the left are some steps leading to a gazebo, at the same level as the tops of the cabbage palms. Look out for monkeys at dawn and dusk. There’s a small car park opposite the entrance (despite the sign to the contrary).

Highway 2, St Thomas, close to Welchman Hall Gully, T 4386640. Daily 0830-1630. US$12.50, children US$5. The bus from Bridgetown to Chalky Mount stops near Harrison’s Cave and the Flower Forest.

This little tourist trap has an impressive Visitors’ Centre with a decent restaurant, a shop and a small display of local geology and Amerindian artefacts. You are first shown an interesting video of Barbados’ geology, then taken into the limestone cave on an electric ’train’. The visit takes about 20 minutes and you will see some superbly lit stalactites and stalagmites, waterfalls and large underground lakes. There is a guide to point out the interesting formations and two stops for photo-opportunities. Interesting as it is, it is all rather overdone. You even have to wear hard hats (to avoid complaints of bumped heads) and serviettes (to catch the drips) despite the fact that the caves are totally stable. If you take Highway 2 heading to Bridgetown you will pass Jack-in-the-Box Gully, part of the same complex of Welchman Hall Gully and Harrison’s Cave. Coles Cave – an ’undeveloped’ cave nearby, which can easily be explored with a waterproof torch or flashlight – lies at its north end.

Highway 1 runs up the coast to Mullins Bay, a lovely stretch of beach just south of Speightstown. There are watersports and a picnic area at the south end and the upmarket Mullins Restaurant, at the north end. There’s lots of activity, usually calm water and safe area for snorkelling and swimming. The restaurant has becme much posher in recent times and there is a running battle with locals over its attempts to enclose the beach. However, there is plenty of room for everybody and you may prefer to take a picnic anyway.

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