Bermuda -Touring Devonshire Parish
Devonshire Parish, bordered by Paget, Pembroke and
Smith’s Parish, offers more peace and quiet than almost anywhere
else on the island. There are no hotels and few restaurants.
If you need a bite to eat, try the Specialty Inn; it’s a
half-mile east of Stop 16 on South Shore Road. They serve a
good lunch or breakfast there, and it’s not expensive.
From the Botanical Gardens go to Berry Hill Road and turn
right. Walk to Tee Street, turn left and go to Middle Road.
Turn right there and go a half-mile to Stop 14, The OldDevonshire Church. The church you see is not the original, although it stands on the site where the first church was built in 1612. The second church, built in 1716, was destroyed in an explosion in 1970. The church you see before you is a faithful reproduction of that one. It’s more like a cottage than a church, but a church it is, and a very popular one too. The pews, the communion table and the pulpit apparently came from the original church of 1612. The church silver is the oldest on the island, some pieces dating to the late 16th century. Old Devonshire is open daily from 9 am until 5:30 pm and admission is free.
From the Old Devonshire Church, turn south onto Brighton Hill Road and walk for about three-quarters of a mile to South Shore Road, where you’ll find the Palm Grove Gardens (Stop 15).
Palm Grove is an 18-acre estate of landscaped gardens, the main feature of which is the pond, with its landscaped relief map of Bermuda. Each parish is picked out in the closecropped map of grass. It’s different and it’s fun. Palm Grove is open Monday through Thursday from 9 am until 5 pm and admission is free.
From Palm Grove, return to South Shore Road and walk east for a short distance to a small side road leading off to the right. You’ll see a sign pointing the way to Devonshire Bay Park and Devonshire Bay Battery, Stop 16.
Devonshire Bay is a quiet place, often deserted, always pleasant – a good spot to spend some time picnicking, swimming, or just relaxing and watching the ocean and the sea birds swooping and diving. You’ll probably need a rest after all the walking you’ve done to get here! The battery, a small fort, was once a part of the islands’ defensive system. It’s now a somewhat lonely place on a site overlooking the bay. Bring your camera. At the end of the day you can return to South Shore Road and grab a number 1 bus back to Hamilton.
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