"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." RLS
For the best view of Georgetown, the island’s capital, there is nowhere that can compare with the view from Fort Bedford. More on the view later but it should also be clear from the picture above why Fort Bedford, tasked with defending the capital, is located where it is – half way up Cross Hill, just behind Georgetown. The peak of Cross Hill remains a military site and thus out of bounds. Continue reading “Fort Bedford”
You will not be able to get BBC television on Ascension Island but rather surprisingly you will use BBC electricity and drink BBC water and drive on BBC roads. The Beeb, as it is affectionately referred too, also used to run the school, the hospital and a farm. Continue reading “The BBC On Ascension Island”
The best known “land” animal on Ascension Island is the famous green turtles. I have written a separate review on these very special creatures Ascension’s Green Turtles.
Given its remoteness, there are and have been very few species of land animal on Ascension Island. Go look for them – your own Ascension Island Safari! Continue reading “Land Animals of Ascension Island – Past and Present”
The Exiles Club, in the centre of Georgetown, was constructed in 1830 as a single story barracks for the Marines with the second story and the clock-tower added in 1848. The clock-tower supposedly replaced the earlier tradition of firing a cannon on an hourly basis to mark the passage of time. Continue reading “Exiles Club (Marine Barracks)”
One of the few things you can buy, by way of souvenir, on Ascension Island is stamps and other philatelic items from the Post Office in Georgetown. I will refer to this again in a ‘shopping” review. Here I will relate a little about to-day’s and yesteryear’s stamps and mail services to the island. Continue reading “The Royal Mail”
Since its discovery in 1501 Ascension Island has been famous for the green turtles which nest upon its beaches. See my main review, Ascension’s Green Turtles, for the current day story of these amazing creatures. In that review I indicate that man is no longer a predator of these turtles but that this has not always been the case. This review relates to the time when man was a predator. Continue reading “Turtle Ponds”
The cemetery, on the upper slopes of Green Mountain, was consecrated by the Bishop of St Helena where he visited Ascension Island in 1861 to consecrate St Mary’s Church in Georgetown. As noted in my St Mary’s review it had taken about 15 yrs to persuade a bishop to come to the island – even an 1852 offer of an eleven gun salute didn’t do the trick. Continue reading “Monkey Rock Cemetery”
The Residency
I mentioned in my general review on Green Mountain that the mountain only has one resident nowadays and that is the British Administrator of the Island. Continue reading “All things British – Government”
Once you have inspected the camels in this area proceed round to the other side of the island to see the wildebeest, hippopotamuses and elephants.
After the excitement of seeing all this wild-life go and sun-bathe – topless – on the Moon Base One Topless Beach (pictured below). Continue reading “Slow down and don’t get burnt !”
The Grotto was built in 1944 by members of the US 895th Engineering Regiment with the first service therein on Easter Sunday of that year. Built to serve military personnel, the original chapel was constructed from lava rock and recycled army hut materials. While there was a stone wall surrounding the altar area sandbags were used for the outer walls and kneeling pads. The statue of Our Lady was imported from the United States. The Grotto remained in use until the US base closed in 1947. Continue reading “The Grotto of Our Lady of Ascension”
The Rambling Wombat 