The Castle, which actually bears no resemblance to what one imagines a castle to be at all, is as it always has been, the main government building on St Helena. The building includes the Governor’s office (if you want to send him a letter pop it in the special post box), Council Chambers, the Island’s archives, the police station, court buildings, a library and other offices. Continue reading “A Most “Uncastle” looking Castle”
I must say this museum is quite a pleasant surprise and worthy an hour or more of your time. It is a very modern, well maintained, museum opened in 2002 to coincide with the Island’s quincentenary celebrations. Continue reading “Jamestown Museum”
Shopping on St Helena
Let’s be honest. You are not going to spend six days on a ship to get to St Helena to shop. Being brutally honest, you would not come here for the purposes of shopping even if the trip was an hour long.
Ok, so what can you buy here? Continue reading “Not a lot to Buy”
When I was in St Helena I stayed at the Wellington House Hotel (across the road from the Consulate). It was more than adequate for my needs and indeed I really enjoyed it there. All accommodation on St Helena is expensive and the Consulate charge around GBP200pn for double B&B – hard to justify the hefty premium, though from chatting to those who stayed there it is good.
Anyway this review is a restaurant review. On my last day I had lunch at the Consulate – not in the formal guest dining room but rather a casual lunch in the coffee shop cum gourmet food shop, cum art gallery. Continue reading “The Consulate Hotel: “Varied Lunch Menu””
Sandy Bay is the name of a relatively large district on the opposite side of the Island to Jamestown, the capital. However, when tourists refer to Sandy Bay they inevitably mean the small bay and beach area in the centre of a long extinct volcanic crater. Continue reading “Sandy Bay and the Inebriated Chinese Pig”
In 1859 the Anglican Diocese of St. Helena was established by Queen’s Order in Council, and included the islands of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and until 1869 the British residents of Rio de Janeiro and other towns on the eastern seaboard of South America as well as the Falklands Islands. The first Bishop, Piers Claughton, was consecrated in Westminster Abbey in London. Continue reading “St Paul’s Cathedral”
I am certainly someone who enjoys a good cup of coffee but prior to getting to St Helena I didn’t realise that coffee was grown there and I certainly didn’t realise it was one, if not the only product exported by St Helena. St Helena coffee is one of the world’s rarest and most expensive coffees – the former perhaps accounting more for the latter than the taste though I don’t mean to underrate the quality. This coffee – St Helena Green Tipped Bourbon – retails for around US$90 per pound or over US$200 per kilo, of the island. Continue reading “St Helena – The World’s Most Expensive Coffee”
I am not suggesting you spend the night here but rather have a look as you pass by. I must admit when I first saw it I assumed it was a museum or something of the sort. Continue reading “Her Majesty’s Prison – St Helena”
This is one of seven former fortifications on the Island and is located above Jamestown on Ladder Hill and accessed by a winding road up the valley side or, more interestingly, via Jacob’s Ladder. The picture below, which I love, is a rather stylised picture of the road to the Fort, painted in 1821 by James Walten – a rather famous British traveller and artist of the time. The cliffs are not quite that sheer – as you can see from photos in my Jacob’s Ladder review. Continue reading “Ladder Hill Fort – Soon to be Hotel”
Not many people know a lot about St Helena and of those who know something not many know that it had its own railway company. Continue reading “Stairway to Heaven – Jacob’s Ladder”
The Rambling Wombat 