After enjoying St. George’s for a couple of weeks we motored 2.5 hours to Bermuda’s Capital city, Hamilton. We would have sailed if the conditions were right but unfortunately the wind was on our nose. Even though we had the engine running the voyage was relaxing and full of beautiful scenery. With the Atlantic Ocean on our starboard side (right) and Bermuda on our port (left) we traveled most of the length of the country to seek a new anchorage. To enjoy our journey, watch Hamilton Bermuda by Boat.
Once we found our new anchorage we immediately settled in.
A neighboring liveaboard came over on his dingy and introduced himself. We gained knowledge about the whereabouts of the dinghy dock, the best place to get groceries and other important information.
The first night we enjoyed a lovely sunset and live music emanating from the tall ship parked next to us. We also were entertained by the creation of yet another one of our daughter, Sienna’s, ‘forts’ built from several sarongs. The latest fort was positioned on the aft deck over the double-bed sunning area.
Over the course of a week, we lived life like we normally do onboard. Sienna did her homeschooling every morning. Simon attempted to fix things (and often fixed them!) and I worked on my culinary solar cooking skills. Thus far, all but one solar cooking adventure has ended on a plate rather than in the sea 🙂
We also spent time ashore exploring the wonderful city of Hamilton.
Interestingly when I did a Google search for ‘Hamilton,’ every place (eg. Hamilton, Canada)/thing (eg. Hamilton, the Musical) on Earth other than Hamilton, Bermuda came up. Even on YouTube, I couldn’t find any videos about the lovely city. I can’t understand why?!
The city is absolutely stunning. The main park is gorgeous – beautiful flowers, trees, and walkways. The stores are brilliant – some mainstream brands but many one-off boutiques. There are cute little book shops, cafes and even the department stores have character.
The whole city is devoid of Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut.
There are lovely churches, architecture, scenic views of the harbor…and the Hamilton Fort is AMAZING. My husband, Simon, and I took Sienna for a little walk and uphill climb to find the fort. A sign was posted that said something to the effect of ‘enter at your own risk.’ I thought it would be in shambles, but it was in an amazing state.
The grounds were perfectly manicured and full of gorgeous shrubs, trees, and flowers.
What totally blew me away was the walk around the fort’s moat. I don’t normally write this but OMG (oh-my-God) it was such a cool experience. Within the moat a forest has grown and it’s like walking through a wonderland of incredible foliage. The trees all have character – twists, turns, interesting changes in their growth…Some trees had roots that were visible that twisted and turned. Others were tipped over but still growing strong. It was enchanting. I felt as if I was Alice in Wonderland…
And amazingly we were the only people at the fort. I got the feeling that Fort Hamilton wasn’t promoted. Bermuda seems to be dominated by cruise ships and I think this fort is not on the list of options – thankfully! I’m not sure why it’s not popular because out of everything I saw in Bermuda this fort was one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been.
And to top it all off, the Fort of Hamilton is free to enter 🙂
But that being said, I’m a tree freak. I love the trees. Always have and always will… I didn’t enjoy the fort for history. Interestingly, I enjoyed the fort for its uniqueness, greenery and the way it made me feel. I think that I also enjoyed it because it felt as if it was a hidden gem. Not once did anyone recommend that we visited the fort. And even in the tourist map that I had the fort wasn’t even on it!
So…if you get to Bermuda check out Fort Hamilton. Yes, it’s a hike but on a lovely sunny day, a walk in the cool moat with a forest rising above you is nothing short of awesome (and I’m not using the word awesome lightly)!
Without any more commentary, the best thing I can do is present my video on Hamilton, Bermuda. My aim was to present the viewer with an inside view as to what it’s like to live on a boat day-to-day AND enjoy the surrounding area. Similar to my Sailing in Bermuda – Life At Anchor video while in St. George’s, this video shows our normal life in addition to what we saw when we went to shore.
The moral of my story… Go to Bermuda because it’s lovely. And when you do, visit Hamilton Fort.
For more information on the products used in this video check out these resources:
Sailing Around Bermuda Articles & Videos
- To check out the next article and/or video in the Sail Bermuda Guide series, visit: Hamilton Bermuda by Boat
- Gain information regarding our previous article: Bermuda St George’s
- To gain a general overview of our trip to and from Bermuda, the places we anchored and the sights we enjoyed, read: Sail Bermuda
Good Resources for Bermuda
I purchased the first two items listed below before we sailed to Bermuda. Both were fantastic and I highly recommend getting them if you’re going to visit Bermuda for any length of time.
Would you like to buy a boat and travel around the world? Learn from our experience.
Get our Sailboat Buying Guide For Cruisers here.
And that’s that. If you have any comments or questions please leave them below or email me at Kim@SailingBritican.com and when I’m not sailing I’ll work hard to respond. Thanks so much for joining us on the journey 🙂