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Bermuda: Somerset
By Mary Johnson Tweedy
SOMERSET
This is a pleasant excursion to take, going one way by ferry and the other by cycle or taxi. Go along the Harbor Road through Paget and Warwick, which becomes the Main Road shortly before Riddell's Bay, and continue through Southampton and Somerset. Take a box lunch or have lunch at Cambridge Beaches. Be sure to check schedules at the Transportation Wharf in Hamilton before you leave if you plan to return by ferry. Points of interest en route and in Somerset are:
"Clermont" --in Paget, where Mary Outerbridge learned the game of tennis, which she later introduced to the United States. A large handsome Georgian house just past the Red Hole boat yard.
Salt Kettle --a quiet little peninsula, and a shipping center from early days. Its name comes from the salt pans that were made there. Woodrow Wilson stayed at "Glencoe" before it became a guest house. Sir George Etherege, Restoration dramatist who wrote such witty and licentious comedies as Love in a Tub and She Would If She Could, was born on Salt Kettle.
Presbyterian Church --a short detour through the Belmont Hotel grounds to the Middle Road. Known as Christ Church, the Church of Scotland or even the Scotch Kirk, it is said to be the oldest Presbyterian church in the British Colonies and perhaps in the Western Hemisphere. George Whitefield preached here as did Dr. Francis Landey Patton, one-time president of Princeton. Dr. Patton's home, "Carberry Hill," is near by.
Spithead --a big white house on a promontory a mile or so from Belmont. This old house was formerly Eugene O'Neill's home.
Riddell's Bay Golf and Country Club --this is both an excellent and pretty course. You can detour and drive up to the clubhouse if you like.
Waterlot Inn --a lovely old "hibiscus-colored" house; for lunch or a drink on the lawn or inside, if it has reopened.
Gibb's Hill Lighthouse --a short detour up the hill to the lighthouse produces one of the best views of the Islands you can find. By all means take time for this--dramatic in daytime and romantic by moonlight.
U.S. Naval Operating Base --built by the United States during World War II by joining several islands with "land" pumped from the sea. It is now on a "caretaker" basis, subject to an emergency.
Wreck Hill Road --a very pleasant walk or ride around Ely's Harbor and out to Wreck Hill. It is the road that turns off toward the ocean just short of Somerset Bridge.
Somerset Bridge --with a draw just large enough for a sailboat mast to pass, it is said to be the smallest drawbridge in the world. The view is always excellent, but it is a rare sight when the oleanders are out.
Cathedral Rocks --turn left a quarter of a mile from the bridge on the Somerset side and go down to the water. The coral cliff here has been worn by the ocean until it resembles Gothic architecture.
Somerset itself is a delightful section of the Colony and has a peaceful rural calm. Break off the main roads and wander down toward Daniel's Head, Long Bay or Mangrove Bay. Somerset has always been popular with American writers and at "Felicity Hall" near Long Bay, Hervey Allen wrote Anthony Adverse. Stop at Cambridge Beaches for a drink or a meal, shop at the Irish Linen Shop or, if you have arranged a temporary membership, play tennis at the Somerset Tennis Club.
H.M. Dockyard --Bermuda is designated by the Royal Navy as "North American and West Indies Station" and the three islands stretching out from Somerset have been used for a dockyard for well over 100 years. * It was built principally by convict labor, the convicts coming out from England and living under incredible conditions in floating barracks known as convict bulks.
Originally built to keep an eye on the newly independent American Colonies, it was used extensively during World Wars I and II. Three huge floating drydocks have served the dockyard during its history, and the present one, capable of lifting a 30,000 ton ship, was towed from Alexandria, Egypt, in 1946.
Administrative headquarters for H.M. Dockyard is known as HMS Malabar, a great ugly two-story building. This elaborate building cost over £40,000 when it was built in 1828. In addition to its marble baths and mahogany paneling, it had eleven horse stables and two coach houses although built on an island a mile long which was then unapproachable except by boat!
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