Subscribers - Click here - Caribbean Compass

ALL ASHORE…
Above: The view from Fort George
Left: Stone arch on Monk’s Hill hike
Overlooking
Antigua’s
Falmouth
Harbour
by Devi Sharp
Monk’s Hill is a prominent feature rising 588 feet above the north side of Falmouth
Harbour, one of Antigua’s most popular yacht harbors. Like so many places in the
Eastern Caribbean with a good view, Monk’s Hill has a fort and can tell a story that
dates back to the 1600s. The fort is named Fort George or Great George Fort, supposedly
after the patron saint of England. The hill itself was named after the owner
of the land, Nathaniel Monk, who owned the estate that included the hill. The fort
was built in 1689 to protect the town of Falmouth from the threat of an invasion by
the French, who had recently captured St. Kitts. The structure was enhanced over
the years and in 1713 it was built to its maximum size, which is about five acres.
Although the fort was built for defense and protection, it has never seen any battles.
The French had reportedly approached, but continued past to capture Montserrat
after seeing the size and scale of the fort.
Today most of the fort is covered with scrubby brush or has tumbled down, but the
walk is worth the view. My husband, Hunter, and I discovered this trail by following
his nose and his keen desire to get on top of the highest hill in the vicinity of any
anchorage. When we reached near the top we were quite surprised to find the ruins
of the fort because you cannot see the fort structure from the anchorage. The climb
up the hill is quite steep in places. The first quarter of a mile is on a road with light
traffic. After departing the main road there is very little traffic and the route turns
into a footpath.
Directions for the Monk’s Hill Hike
Secure your dinghy at the Catamaran Marina, walk out to the main road
from the marina and turn left (towards St. John’s). Walk on the main road for
less than a quarter mile past the St. Paul’s Anglican Church and past a green
bar plastered with Heineken logos. Take the second right past the green bar
onto a gravel road.
Continue walking up the road as it climbs past lovely houses and barking
dogs and into the saddle of the hillside. In about half a mile the road turns into
a dirt track and you continue on the track in the same direction for about 100
feet to where the track ends. On your left there will be a footpath surrounded
by many century plants. Continue on the obvious trail beneath the hill with a
drop-off on your left side. Keep looking right for a cluster of century plants
where the trail goes uphill between the century plants; at this point the trail
will go away from the drop-off.
Shortly after going through the century plants you will come to a stone wall;
this is part of Fort George. Continue walking parallel to the stone wall until you
get to an “L” in the wall. Walk through the corner and you’ll get to a stone
structure where you will need to bear right (east). Continue on the trail and in
a few hundred feet the trail ends at a rock road. Take a right turn and walk
uphill to the top of Monk’s Hill. The trail makes a Y at the communication
tower where you will bear right and get a view of Falmouth and English
Harbours. You can walk around the top for more great views.
It takes about one hour from the dinghy dock to the top of Monk’s Hill.
At this point you can retrace your steps or go down a different way. If you
choose to make a loop and go down a different way, you will retrace your steps
to the rock road and head downhill on the road through the stone arch (about
half a mile) until you come to a Y, where you will bear right. In a few hundred
feet you will see one power pole on the left and two more on the right. At the
second right-side power pole follow the steep dirt track downhill. It will widen
into an overgrown roadbed; follow this until it turns into concrete with a rock
wall on your left. At the T make a left and you will come into the main road
where you will take a right and you are only a few hundred feet from the turnoff
to the Catamaran Marina.
Devi Sharp is a retired wildlife biologist and is hiking in the Caribbean with her
husband, Hunter. They live on their sailboat, Arctic Tern.
DECEMBER 2012 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 19