Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Warwick is also the site of some of the best golf and horseback riding in Bermuda.
See chapter 6 for specifics on these activities.
PAGET PARISH
On every visit to Bermuda, we schedule a long stopover at the Botanical Gardens with
its associated art museum, the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art. They're worth
the trip, even if you're staying in the East End. Once you're here, Waterville, one of
the oldest houses in Bermuda, merits a look. You could cap your visit with a walk
through unspoiled Paget Marsh, although you might skip it if you've already seen
Spittal Pond (see “Smith's Parish,” later in this chapter).
The Birdsey Studio
Jo Birdsey Lindberg, daughter of the island's best-known
artist, Alfred Birdsey (1912-96), sells original artwork, watercolors, and oils. An expe-
rienced painter, she continues a family tradition by producing and showing her work
here, in a garden setting. Her impressionistic style appears in compositions ranging
from landscapes of Bermuda to architectural and nautical themes. Also available are
notecards reproduced from paintings by Alfred Birdsey. You must call ahead for an
appointment.
5 Stowe Hill.
&
441/236-6658
or 441/236-5845 in the evening. Free admission. By appointment only.
Bus: 8 from the City of Hamilton.
Botanical Gardens
This 14-hectare (35-acre) landscaped park, maintained by
the Department of Natural Resources, is one of Bermuda's major attractions. Hun-
dreds of clearly identified flowers, shrubs, and trees line the pathways. Attractions
include collections of hibiscus and subtropical fruit, an aviary, banyan trees, and even
a garden for the blind. A 90-minute tour leaves at 10:30am on Tuesday, Wednesday,
and Friday, taking you through lushly planted acres. Guests meet at the Berry Hills
entrance near the Botanical Gardens Visitor's Center. On the Tuesday and Friday
tour, participants stop in at Camden, the official residence of Bermuda's premier, for
a look around. The cafe sells sandwiches and salads (soup and chili in winter). Early
in 2008, the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art opened within a much-restored,
much rebuilt building in these gardens (separately described below). And in the
spring of 2008, the Botanical Gardens launched an ambitious 5-year plan to intro-
duce four separate gardens of themed plants, including a Japanese Zen Garden, a
17th-century-style English Parterre Garden, a 12th-century-style Persian Garden,
and a Tudor-style Children's Maze Garden.
Point Finger Rd. (at South Rd.).
&
441/236-4201.
Free admission. Daily 9:30am-5:30pm. Tours Tues-
Wed and Fri 10:30am. Bus: 1, 2, 7, or 8. By bike or moped, turn left off Middle Rd. onto Tee St.; at Berry
Hill Rd., go right; about 1km (
2
⁄
3
-mile) farther on the left is the signposted turnoff to the gardens; take a
right fork to the parking lot on the left.
The Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art
Bermuda's first purpose-
built art museum was the subject of island-wide patriotic fervor when it opened early
in 2008, and the crowds pouring in haven't abated since. It's housed within the much-
altered, much-expanded premises of what functioned in 1900 as an arrowroot pro-
cessing plant. As part of a skillful recycling of the once-decrepit building, it now
boasts a state-of-the-art security system, sophisticated lighting, air-conditioning,
preservation facilities, floors crafted from wide planks of exotic Brazilian hardwood,
and a constantly shifting exposition of artworks crafted or painted by Bermudians,
focusing on Bermuda, or merely inspired by Bermuda. Only about 5% of the total
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