Bermuda's 123 Islands

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Bermuda's 123 Islands

Some were destroyed to create British and American military bases

To refer to this web file, please use "bermuda-online.org/islands.htm" as your Subject.

Bermuda's location, 600 miles due east of North Carolina. Location: W064 44, N3219. Time zone: Atlantic time, one hour ahead of the USA and Canada's EST and four hours behind GMT.

Bermuda (Somer's Isles), near the Gulf Stream in the northwest Atlantic, with about 50 inches of rain annually. NOT in the Caribbean but 900 miles north of it. Bermuda is a nominal British territory - nominal because despite being British it is self-governing internally, makes all its own laws and does not use any from the United Kingdom. It treats everyone - including the British - not born in Bermuda with a Bermudian parent, or without Bermudian status obtained prior to 1995 or by marriage after 10 years of marriage to the same Bermudian (and living with the spouse), as a foreigner.

Only Bermudians can own any property, vote and own any land. Non-nationals are limited to buying the top 5% of land in market price, subject to certain provisos.

Bermuda is one of the oldest, smallest but most populated of the British Overseas Territories - and oldest British Commonwealth member (not shown by name but via Great Britain). The whole of Bermuda is tiny - with a land area of only 21 square miles or 56 square kilometers. It includes all the islands mentioned below. Residents and visitors travel from one end to the other in just over an hour and from north to south in 10 to 15 minutes. Bermuda is said to have begun some 100 million year ago as a volcanic mountain, with the volcanoes having disappeared 70 million or so years ago. Oceanographers say the Bermuda Rise either juts up from the deep Atlantic Ocean floor in the form of three steep-sided mountains, the largest of which supports the Bermuda today, on the southern margin of a shallow water platform, with Challenger and Argus (or Plantagenet) Banks to the southwest, or that the Bermuda Rise is five mountains including the more distant Bowditch and Muir Seamounts (the furthest of which is about 150 miles to the northeast).

Bermuda locale

The Bermuda Mountain is longer - 32 miles - than the land area width and much wider - 16 miles wide - than the maximum land width of 1.5 miles. At sea, the Argus and Challenger Banks are round and about 6 miles across. Below the level of limestone and 450 feet below sea level is volcanic rock; and below that, only black lava and other igneous volcanic rock. Only in one place in Bermuda - 60 feet below sea level at the southern end of Bermuda International Airport -is volcanic rock found so near to sea level.

The nominal Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II. See Bermuda's Links with Britain. Most visitors' maps portray Bermuda, wrongly, as only one island. It has 6 principal islands or former islands and 120 others for practical purposes (138 in total, including mere rocks) in its total land area of under 21 square miles (33 square kilometers).

Going from northwest to east, the six principal islands or former islands are Ireland Island (north and south), Boaz Island, Somerset, Main, St. David's and St. George's, about 22 miles by road in total length. They are the contiguous mass of Bermuda. The largest by far is Great Bermuda or Main Island, neither of which phrase is used locally. It is a mile wide on average, 14 miles long, 259 feet above sea level at its highest point, with hills and fertile depressions.

All six principal islands are now joined together and to other accessible islands or former islands such as Coney Island and Cooper's Island - by 12 bridges and a causeway. Most visitors confine themselves to these six principal islands without knowing they are going from one to the other (because there are no island signs) or are discouraged from seeing islands which are not among the principal group because there is no scheduled service to them. But some of the smaller ones are fascinating. The bridges linking the principal islands are less than 100 years old. Before then, ferries were used at most crossings. Some were mere rowboat ferries.

Most islands are in Castle Harbor, Great Sound, Little Sound, Hamilton Harbor and Harrington Sound (an internal lake, accessing the sea via Flatts Inlet). All islands have a limestone rock, with coral formation caps. On the north, west, and south they are surrounded by reefs.

Parishes (counties)

There are nine parishes (counties), each 2.3055 square miles (3.68 square kilometers). The map below, from west to east, shows how they relate to each other geographically. With the exception of Devonshire Parish, no Parish shows boundary signs. (In most other countries, counties have entering and exiting signs).

Landmarks

All the Bermuda Parishes above have islands. Within these Parishes are these key areas:

Nearest land beyond Bermuda

Alphabetical list of all the many islands - present and past

With information about their respective Parishes. Once, there were 173 islands or islets. Some were absorbed into one of the former military bases or been blasted away or merged with a neighboring island.

Our separate files on each Parish describe their islands. Some have interesting histories, or are privately owned or both. Only a few are accessible to the general public. Some are wild life reserves, with signs telling people on foot or in boats that landing is prohibited. The Castle Group of islands, Darrell's Island, Nonsuch Island and Paget Island are typical of those closed to most visitors.

Bermuda Islands - presently

A to B

Agar's	Originally 4 acres, is 200 yards by sea from the exclusive area of Point Shares, in Pembroke Parish. It has no public access. It can be seen from the Fairylands shoreline by cruise ship and ferry boat passengers. Once, it was owned and run by the British military. The British Army built Bermuda's largest gunpowder magazine on it in 1870, entirely underground. Bermuda's first aquarium was here in the 1920's, as the forerunner to the Bermuda Aquarium, Natural History Museum and Zoo in Hamilton Parish. The island has guest houses, a beach area, a swimming pool, tennis and squash courts and docks. Now the island is privately owned by British author and multi-millionaire James Martin who wrote The Wired Society and is a much-respected futurologist. He has built a multi-million dollar development here, including an eye-catching atrium. It is a dramatic new home amid the ruins of the 19th-century fort. Douglas Hedley-Coates was the architect who supervised its construction and transformed the island’s quarries into ponds. A 19th-century latrine became an orchid house. A formal garden was installed on the roof of the old gunpowder magazine. The pumping engines of an aquarium, destroyed in a hurricane in 1922, were recovered and turned into ornamental features. Martin, now in his 70s, divides his time between a mountaintop estate in Vermont, a home in South Africa, and this island.
Alpha	100 yards southwest of Hawkins Island, Hamilton Harbor, Warwick Parish.
Argus	39 miles southwest of Bermuda. Man made by the USA in 1962 to spy on Soviet submarines in the Atlantic and once laced with devices to track their every movement. Since abandoned.
Banjo	Also known as Bartram's or Mullet. 1.25 acres, Mullet Bay, off St. George's Island. Bartrum's was for John Tavernier Bartrum, a grandson of English naturalist John Tavernier. Born in Lincolnshire in 1811, Bartrum came here as a member of the British Army (37th Regiment of Foot) in 1832, purchased his discharge in 1837 and resided at Ferry Reach until his death in 1889. He became famous for his book in 1879 called The Cage Birds of Bermuda.
Bartlett's	Two, both just north of Middle Road, Great Sound, Southampton Parish.
Bay	1 acre, 500 yards off Bailey's Bay, picturesque, accessible.
Beta	Great Sound, Warwick Parish.
Bethell's	Ely's Harbor, Sandys Parish.
Bird	Fairylands, Pembroke Parish.
Bluck's	Also Denslow's or Dyer's. Great Sound, Warwick Parish.
Boat Rock	See Halfway Rock.
Boaz	Also Gate's and Yates. 30 acres. One of the six principal islands. Now connected to mainland via Little Watford Bridge and Grey's Bridge. In 1939, a brand-new Royal Naval Air Station was constructed here as part of British military preparations for World War 2. The increased workload at HMS Malabar caused problems due to the limited space available. With so many of the locally-based or in-transit Royal Navy warships carrying catapult-launched seaplanes such as the Hawker Osprey, Fairey Seafox and Supermarine Walrus seaplanes, the need for prompt, efficient and spacious aircraft maintenance was a high priority. Thus, the new station was built. It had two good-size hangers and launching ramps on either side of the island and they allowed continuous operation in any wind direction. With the Battle of the Atlantic over, the station was reduced to care and maintenance status in 1944. Some remnants still survive. The ferry service to and from here finally ceased in May 2005. The nearest surviving one is Watford Bridge.
Brangman's	Also Moore's, or Southampton. 2 acres, between Castle and Nonsuch Islands, Castle Harbor. Part of the Castle Group. Historically important.
Bremen	0.25 acre, east of Smith's Island, St. George's Parish.
Brook's	0.85 acre, north of but close to St. David's Island, St. George's Parish. Privately owned by Mona Walsh, grand-daughter of the late Howard E. D. Smith who previously owned it.
Buck	South of Little Sound, Southampton Parish.
Burnt	Very small, west of Salt Kettle, Paget Parish. It is named from when settlers set fire to vegetation to get rid of rats going from island to island.
Burt	Warwick Parish. (Warwick North Central constituency). Also Moses, Murderer's, Skeeter's. 7.75 acres, Granaway Deep, Great Sound. Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat. Number 14 on Government listing of Bermuda National Parks and Reserves.
Burt's	North of St. David's Island, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish.

C to Daniels

Cat	Off Mill Shares, Pembroke Parish.
Cathedral	Abutting Whale Island, Ely's Harbor, Sandys Parish. Its name stems from Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, England (still standing since 1200+ AD). It so happened that there was once a local family called Ely, but this was probably incidental. Ely, after the UK cathedral, became quite a common surname for people once from that region, including colonists to North America and beyond.
Cave	North of Spanish Point, Pembroke Parish.
Charles' (Old Castle)	3.5 acres, is another in the "Castle Islands" group of historical importance for its original fortification. The ancient English forts on these Castle Islands are without parallel in North America, evidence of the beginning of the coastal defense system of the overseas British Empire.
Cobbler's	Or Cobler's. West of Spanish Point, Pembroke Parish.
Collins	Southwest of Major's Bay, Harrington Sound, Hamilton Parish.
Coney	A Bermuda National Park. Named after the coney fish (Cephalopholis fulva) once prominent around here. 14.5 acres in size and open to the public from daylight to sunset, free of charge. It is located off the southwest tip of St. George's Island, joined to Main Island, but accessible by road only via the North Shore Road in Hamilton Parish. It has an interesting, undeveloped park and beaches, also a noisy motor cycle track. Its northernmost tip is called North Point and was the western terminus of a railway bridge that once ran to Ferry Reach. The public beaches are in the Department of Environmental Protection but are frequently littered with bottles, plastics, wood and more. Camping was once a popular seasonal event but is no longer allowed, for reforestation.
Cooper's	77.5 acres, off St. David's. Historically significant. In 1612 it was claimed by Christopher Carter in payment for his share of ambergris forfeited to the Bermuda Company. He spent years there digging in vain for what he thought was buried treasure. It was once occupied by a NASA space tracking station and has two lovely public beaches. They were once US Army, then US Air Force, then US Navy property until the base was closed in 1995. St. George's Parish.
Crawl	Southeast of Hospital, Sandys Parish.
Crow	Hungry Bay, Paget Parish.
Crow	East of Trunk Island, Harrington Sound, Hamilton Parish.
Current	Northwest of Watford Bridge, Sandys Parish.
Daniel's	Off Daniel's Head, Sandys Parish.

Passengers on this particular flight included Mr. John Barritt of John Barritt & Son Mineral Water Company; Major Neville, a staff officer at Admiralty House; Mr. E. P. T. Tucker, General Manager of John S. Darrell & Co.; Mr. E. R. Williams of J. E. Lightbourn & Co. (who later became a Mayor of Hamilton); Mr. H. B. L. Wilkinson, of Bailey's Bay; Miss Minna Smith, a nurse at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital; Mr. Terry Mowbray, Sports Director of the Bermuda Trade Development Board; Mr. & Mrs. Richard Scott of Boston, returning from their honeymoon in Bermuda; and Mr. Eugene Kelly, Mrs. Alice James and Mrs. John Fullarton, all of New York.

Later, in support of the two airlines and in anticipation of much more communications traffic, the West India and Panama Telegraph Company Ltd - in conjunction with Britain's Imperial & International Communications - installed an internal teleprinter system between the airlines' offices and the Air to Ground station.

Darrell's Island served in a similar capacity for Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and US Army Air Force flying boats during World War 2. During the war, American use of Bermuda as a military base caused their desertion of this island for the land based airport they built. From June 1954 for several years, the island was used as a film studio location, but it was never viable. The old flying boat hanger was demolished in 1974. Then it became a residential island. Most of it later got taken over by the Bermuda Government. Nowadays, part of the island - Darrell's Island West - is the Allen Camp, operated by the African Methodist Episcopal Churches, at telephone 234-0433.

Contact it via the Department of Youth, Sport & Recreation, to which all enquiries should be addressed directly. Structured camping is offered in 14 individual rustic campsites with a maximum of 30 campers per site. There are washrooms and showers.

Delta	Small, in the Great Sound, north of Burt Island and directly south of Nelly Island, between Gamma and Epsilon, in Warwick Parish. Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat.
Doctor's	Hamilton Harbor, north of Salt Kettle, Paget Parish.
Duck	A mangrove patch in Hamilton Harbor, Foot of The Lane, Paget Parish. Aquatic life takes refuge here and during storms or hurricanes small boats take shelter to leeward.
Epsilon	Small, south west of Port's. Warwick Parish.
Eta	Not accessible by ferry, only by boat. During the Boer War, prisoners of war on work parties crossed from Port's to Long and the other way around via a wooden footbridge on this island. Privately owned. Warwick Parish.
Fern	Warwick Parish. (Warwick North Central constituency). Also known as Sin, Hamilton Harbour.
Ferry	1.5 acres, south west of St. George's Island and north of Coney Island, St. George's Parish. It is named after the horse ferry that used to come here until the late 19th century. It was then the only connection between St. George's Island and Main Island. A bridge connects the island with Ferry Point behind it.
Fish Hook	South of East Whale Bay, Southampton Parish.
Five Star	Also known as Wilson's, 2 acres, one-property residential, Great Sound, Southampton Parish. Owned and lived on by Curt Engelhorn, the German billionaire.
Gamma	Warwick Parish. (Warwick North Central constituency). A mere dot, South of Nelly Island.
Gibbet	(Sometimes called Gallows). 1 acre and Little Gibbet, closer to shore. They are not accessible to the general public except by water, up to the high tide mark. The # 10 and # 11 buses stop on either side of the North Shore Road nearby. They can be clearly seen from the North Shore Road where it meets Jennings Land Road, and from the Railroad Trail nearby. They guard the entrance to Flatts Inlet. Both were once sites for executions of witches by burning at the stake and felons by hanging, via a gibbet. The bare pole is not an old gallows but an old standard for a navigation light. One hanging was in 1681, a slave from New England, Indian John. He was the property of William Maddigan who then lived at Orange Grove not far away in the same parish. Indian John escaped, tried to set fire to the house, seized a pistol and intended to shoot every member of the family, but was captured. He was sentenced by Governor Florentius Seymour to be executed, have his head cut off and be quartered and the head and quarters put on poles for all to see. Another slave was hung in 1754 after being convicted of murder.
Goat	Fairylands Creek, Pembroke Parish. Near Stipple Island and like it a nature reserve.
Goose	Off Fairylands and Mills Shares, Pembroke Parish.
Governor's	Its old ruined fort was once the dominant feature on this 1-acre island in St. George's Harbor, near St. David's Island, between Peggy's Island and Paget Island. It was named for Governor Richard Moore who in 1612-13 began the fort as a way to command the vulnerable but then strategically important channel nearby. By the time Moore's term ended, 11 guns were in the fort. One of the publicly inaccessible forts but historically important.

Grace	Also known as Robbins, 5.9 acres, Great Sound, Warwick Parish. Owned by Bermudian millionaire and philanthropist Mr. Fernance Perry, who has the Grace Island Trust. Birds such as the blue heron make it their home. There is a now a Christian camping site in facilities finished in 2000, the Word of Life Summer Teen Camp, in part of every August. Contact it at (441) 234-4648 or e-mail wolbda@ibl.bm.
Grazbury's	0.75 acre, southeast of Annie's Bay on Cooper's Island, Castle Harbor, St. George's Parish.
Green	Continuation of Nonsuch, St. George's Harbour, St. George's Parish.
Gunpoint	West of Wreck Bay, Sandys Parish.
Halfway Rock	(Also Boat Rock). A limestone stack just in Smith's Parish, slightly west of Hamilton Parish. It is offshore, halfway between The Castle fort on Castle Island and the fort at Devonshire Bay. It was unmanned but important before the Military Road permitted east-west land travel. It was a military bearing mark on the water route between the two important fortifications.
Haggis	South of Riddell's, Southampton Parish.
Hall's	Off Trunk, in Harrington Sound, Hamilton Parish. Once used for the study of the gibbons species of monkey. A tribe of gibbons was introduced for research.
Hawkins	Warwick Parish (Warwick North Central constituency). Originally Elizabeth's or Tatem. 5 acres. Great Sound. It was re-named after the Royal Navy bought it in 1809. It is not a National Park because it is privately owned by a family trust headed by William Cox. It's not easily seen in the Great Sound because it is the most easterly of the large group of islands stretching across the center, well hidden behind Darrell's, Burt's, Delta, Gamma, and Beta Islands. It was a Boer War prisoner of war camp from 1901 to 1902. It housed as many as 1,300 prisoners in bell tents. There is no ferry service nor public access. But there are local cruises there several days a week with an entertainment package. Planning permission has been sought for lodge facilities.
Hen	2.75 acres, north-west of Smith's, St. George's Harbour, St. George's Parish. With a campsite operated by and requiring the permission well in advance of the Bermuda Government's Department of the Environment (Parks). Now used by Cub Scouts. In October 2011 a skeleton was found buried there. It may have been that of Gunner Thomas Squires. In 1825, on September 3, then based with a field battery on Hen Island, he was injured during a storm on the island and subsequently died from those injuries. It is believed he was buried on the island.
Higg's	5 acres, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish. Reduced to help create the Town Cut.
Hinson's	Also known in the past as Brown's or Godet's. One of the largest in the Great Sound, closer to the Warwick shore than the Paget shore so it belongs here technically even if in Paget Parish. It has a convoluted history in various earlier names, then known as Brown's Island and Godet's Island. It was a Boer War prisoner of war camp from 1901 to 1902, mostly for Boer teenagers. Later, it was the base for Bermuda's first seaplane service, the Bermuda and West Atlantic Aviation Company, run by Major Hal Kitchener and Major Hemming, a veteran of World War I. Now it is an exclusive island - and a private club - for the wealthy, with a request ferry stop on the Warwick service for residents to get to the city of Hamilton and back. Most homes have their own water frontage or private docks or moorings. There are no private automobiles on the island. Ashore, see it best from Harbor Road, at the Belmont Wharf or Darrell's Wharf ferry stops.
Horseshoe	2.25 acres, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish.
Hospital	At the entrance to Crawl Island, Sandy's Parish.
Idot	Near Nonsuch, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish.
Inner Dumpling	East of Outer Dumpling, Harrington Sound, Hamilton Parish.
Inner King's Point	West of King's Point, Sandys Parish.
Iota	Great Sound, with a small landing dock, Southampton Parish.

Ireland	Named after Englishman John Ireland. In the Great Sound, Sandys Parish. One of the six principal Bermuda islands. It is the narrow serrated island that pushes out into the Atlantic at the extreme north west of Bermuda. It has a completely separate history from the rest of Bermuda. It is historically important. It dates from when a Flemish or Dutch ship went aground in Wreck Bay on the Main Island and sank there in 1618. It was why the original name was Flemish Hill. The captain of the ship had the very English name of Powell and was a notorious Caribbean pirate. The buccaneer ship then had legal status as a privateer. It had sailed against the Spanish under a Letter of Marque by the Dutch prince Maurice of Orange, so was technically not a Flemish ship but a Dutch one. The British Government did not like the presence of Powell in Bermuda so Governor Miles Kendall banished him to the western Bermuda island now called Ireland Island. It was from there that Powell and his men tried to build a new ship. In 1795, Wreck Hill was bought by the Royal Navy - see Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda - which considered the Wreck Hill site an ideal one for a lighthouse. But the one that eventually got built at Gibb's Hill instead from 1840 caused the plans for this one to be scrapped. Until it became a major Royal Navy base in the 18th century, there were no roads and few inhabitants. Because there was a fear of leprosy, all those leaving there had to leave this jungle island of cedar and swine and wooden houses thatched with palmetto before the Royal Navy started moving in properly from 1809, from which point the island was destined to become joined to the mainland instead of staying an island. The Royal Navy stayed until 1952 when the Royal Navy Dockyard there ended, but HMS Malabar continued with a token presence until 1995.
Kappa	Great Sound, Warwick Parish.
Lambda	Great Sound, north west of Hawkin's and between it and Omega. Warwick Parish.
Lapstone	Off Spanish Point, Pembroke Parish.
Little Crumb	Between Spectacle and Perot's, Southampton Parish.
Little Gibbet	South of Gibbet, Smith's Parish.
Little Oswego	0.73 acre, east of Oswego (Great), off St. David's, St. George's Parish.
Little Rogue	Off Ferry Reach, St. George's Parish.
Little Scaur	Between Grazbury's and Long Rock, south of Annie's Bay, St. David's, St. George's Parish.

Long	Warwick Parish. (Warwick North Central constituency). Once known as Sheep, in that part of the Great Sound known as Paradise Lake. Historically important. Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat. It was a designated prisoner of war Island Camp during the Boer War in 1901 to 1902. Its 1,100 involuntary inhabitants shipped to Bermuda from South Africa to isolate them from their homeland included Generals of the Boer Army. There's a poignant stone memorial to them this island where 40 died and were buried. An official from the government of South Africa visited here in 1998. Among the distinguished visitors to the Boer Cemetery have been current South African President Thabo Mbeki and former President F.W de Klerk. Mr, Mbeki was in Bermuda for secret talks with South African political opponents in 1989 and had traveled from his exile base in Tanzania. Mr. de Klerk visited in 1997. On May 1, 2000, Dr. Nina de Klerk, sister in law of former South African President F. W. de Klerk, visited the island. Her family was actively involved in the Boer War. Prominent Bermudian businesspeople have private cottages or land on the island.
Long Rock	1 acre, northeast of Grazbury's and Little Scaur, Castle Harbour, St. George's Parish.
Main	14 x 1.8 miles at its widest point, biggest of Bermuda's six principal islands, with Southampton, Warwick, Paget, Devonshire, Smith's and Hamilton Parishes.
Malabar	North of Boaz, Sandys Parish. One of the reasons why there was an HMS Malabar on Ireland Island
Marshall's	Warwick Parish (Warwick North Central constituency). Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat. Privately owned, residential. A large double island, between Hinson's and Long Islands. Its two parts are linked by a narrow isthmus. It was one of the islands purchased in 1809 by the British Admiralty for the Royal Navy. Now owned by Bermuda-based businessman Peter Green.
Middle King's Point	West of Inner King's Point, Sandys Parish.
Morgan's	Ely's Harbour, Sandys Parish.
Mount	Off Spanish Point, Pembroke Parish.
Mouse	Boss's Cove, Spanish Point, Pembroke Parish.
Mowbray	Adjacent to Two Rock Passage, Pembroke Parish.
Nelly	Great Sound, south of Hawkin's and adjacent to Long. Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat. Privately owned. Warwick Parish.

Nonsuch	An old English name, transplanted by first settlers, after a former Royal palace in Surry, England. Castle Harbor, west of Cooper's Island, south of St. David's, 14.5 acres. It has small, pristine, untouched beaches and a fresh-water marsh. Permission is needed to visit. Its trees are mostly Olivewood, Palm, Bermuda Cedar and casuarina. Its main occupants are the cahow bird (but no nests), butterflies, skinks, silk spiders and the longtail bird. Originally Nonesuch Island. It has been variously used as a grazing land for animals, a ships quarantine station, a yellow fever and smallpox hospital, a marine laboratory - it achieved fame when Dr. William Beebe and staff used it for their deep water diving experiments for a major organization in New York in the 1920s/30s - and junior training school for delinquent boys. It was abandoned for 12 years. In 1951, it was the site of the rediscovery of the Bermuda petrel or cahow, endemic (Pterodroma cahow) thought to have been extinct for over 300 years. The Cahow project was begun here by Dr. David Wingate (he retired in 2000 as Government Conservation Officer, a post Jeremy Madeiros now holds). The entire island was acquired by the Bermuda Government in 1964, as part of its nature reserve, bird and wildlife system, through funds donated by the New York Zoological Society. Now the Nonsuch Island Nature Reserve is a living museum, a re-creation of Bermuda's native flora and fauna. Limited escorted field trips, for special-interest groups only, began in 2000, from the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) for $75 per person, including a picnic lunch. Telephone 297-1880. Credit card bookings and Thursday morning only, weather permitting, or if not on a Sunday morning. All proceeds support environmental research and education at BBSR. There is also a week-long Nonsuch Island Natural History Camp every year (usually in June) for local high school students, at the nature reserve. Students camp out under the stars, sleep on lilos or camp beds, bathe with solar showers or cold water from a bucket.
North Rock	In 1788, Lieutenant Thomas Hurd RN made the earliest detailed record of this the northernmost point of Bermuda, and the chart contained a proposal for the building of a lighthouse and gun battery on the platform of reefs. It also had a vignette of the six main pinnacles, of which only one is now extant. What happened to the others is not readily known, though hearsay suggests they may have been used as targets for modern artillery practice. Lt. Hurd spent almost a decade in Bermuda waters charting the extensive reefs and plotting the channels through them, including the only major one for large ships, off the east end of St. George's Island. His work set new standards for such charts and he was appointed the second Hydrographer to the Royal Navy in 1808. At his death in 1823, Francis Beaufort, who invented the wind force scale for indicating wind velocity for shipping, succeeded him in that office. Just to the east of North Rock, a channel to the open sea is defined to the east by the Great Breaker, which always breaks, and therefore around which the ocean constantly heaves. That channel was used to good effect by the Royal Navy fleet when it departed for America during the War of 1812. In 1875, Governor of Bermuda General Lefroy persuaded photographer James B. Heyl to make an expedition to North Rock to photograph the pinnacles. North Rock was called on early French maps "La Petite Bermude." Lefroy wanted a image to publish in his upcoming book on the early history of Bermuda and he, his Aide-de-Camp, Capt. Trench RA, and a group of friends all went on the adventure. As the "wet-plate process" was then in use, Heyl had to take his chemicals and a tent to develop the photographs immediately, as so required by that process. The tent-darkroom and the camera were set up on the eastern perimeter of the North Rock boiler and the resulting images captured the site on film, possibly for the first time. Off northern shore of Main, it remains one of the few places of "silence and solitude" in Bermuda, free as it is from any taint of traffic (except the occasional motor fishing boat). Visually, its collection of limestone pinnacles - once one of Bermuda's greatest geological monuments-is marred by the concrete tub that is the foundation for the present North Rock Beacon. Only one of the pinnacles still survives to its original pre-settlement of Bermuda height. What has not changed for many millennia is the ocean, which attacks and retreats from this obstruction in its path, some nine miles north of Flatts Village, with majestic surges of green water and surf. In winter, the ocean breaks massively over these coral fortifications.
One-Tree	West of Mangrove Bay Wharf, Sandys Parish.
Ordnance Island	The only island in the old town, this one is 1.75 acres and man-made. There were once several islands here. The present island incorporates what was Ducking Stool, Frazer's and Gallows. One stored munitions for the British Army and Royal Navy. Another was where people convicted of capital crimes or witchcraft were hanged. It is now permanently connected to St. George's Island by a bridge so cunningly designed that it does not seem to be a bridge at all. It was a US Navy submarine base when the USA entered World War 2 two years after the British. Cruise ships berth here. Several of the most prominent attractions of the town are located here or nearby. Today, the island has a small park for choice views, a statue of Admiral Sir George Somers who founded the town in 1609, and one of the two cruise ship berths.
Oswego	Also known as Great, 2.5 acres, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish.
Outer Dumpling	South of Hall's, Harrington Sound, Hamilton Parish.
Outer King's Point	West of Middle King's Point, Sandys Parish.
Paget	In St. George's Harbor, 36.75 acres, it was named after William, fourth Lord Paget who also gave his name to Paget Parish on Main Island. At various times later, it was also called Peniston's, Pennistones and Pennystones after Anthony of that name who came to Bermuda from Saffron Walden, Essex, England and lived here. It was purchased by the Honorable George Forbes when known as Paget Ford Island. It and nearby Smith's Island were whaling centers. This island's principal feature is massive Fort Cunningham. An old fort was here in 1612, another battery was constructed in 1619, major work to the fort was done in 1722, more took place in the 1750s. The fort was replaced in the early 1820's. It was altered in the 1870's to contain two iron fronts instead of masonry walls. Known originally as "Gibraltar shields," only in Bermuda were they made into continuous straight walls, one for five guns and one for two. Seven huge guns for the shields were found in 1991, two being of only six known examples to have survived anywhere of the famous British Army 38-ton, 12.5-inch caliber Rifled Muzzle Loader guns of the 1880's. During World War 2 it was a prisoner of war camp for some Germans or Austrians - only one of whom, Charles Koeppel, 74 years old in the year 2000, has survived. He was born in the USA but his parents were Austrian. His family tried to leave New York for Europe in 1941 but were captured and interned. Guards from the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (part of the Bermuda Regiment since 1965) included William Soares, John Mello and Peter Adams. Unfortunately, most tourists cannot visit Paget Island because there is no regular scheduled boat service. The fort, in Bermuda Government hands, has been allowed to deteriorate. With permission in advance directly from the Bermuda Government's Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation, local and overseas groups camp on the campground site each year, only one group at a time with a maximum of 70 campers. Many outbuildings have different purposes. There is also a playing field. Local and overseas groups camp on the 20 acre campground site each year, only one group at a time with a maximum of 70 campers. Many outbuildings for different purposes.
Palm	Between Bethell's and Morgan's, Ely's Harbor, Sandys Parish.
Partridge	Off Agar's, off Spanish Point south, Pembroke Parish.
Pear	Harrington Sound, Hamilton Parish.
Pearl	Great Sound, Warwick Parish.
Peggy's	Off Smith's, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish.
Perot's	Also known as Crumb, and Brush. 8.17 acres, one-property residential, Riddle's Bay area, Great Sound, Southampton Parish. Historically significant. Previous owners include the one-time Huguenot Perot family who emigrated to Bermuda in the late 18th century shortly after the French Revolution, Miss Claudia Darrell, Mrs. David Van Buren of New York who occupied the property in the late 1940s, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Orr and from 1949, Stanhope Joell. The island was owned for 14 years by Swiss billionaire Marion MacMillan. It has since been sold for US$ millions. The house, built in 1937, has 27 rooms, seven of which are bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms; outbuildings, huge swimming pool (at one time the largest in Bermuda), tennis court, boat house and small private beach.
Ports	20 acres. Warwick Parish. South of Long Island, Great Sound. Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat. Privately owned. Historically important. In 1692, after yellow fever first arrived from the Caribbean and killed 800 people - 10 percent of the entire population at that time - this was the first island used to isolate them after their pets were killed. Yellow fever came to the colony many times. A yellow fever cemetery is still here. Prisoners of war were held in isolation here during the War of 1812 to 1814, Boer War of 1901 to 1902 and World War 1. With a campsite, permission in advance directly from the Bermuda Government's Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation. Only one group at a time.
Pudding	Small and barren. South of Stocks Harbor and west of St. David's. Its position saved it from destruction when the USA military bases were built from 1941. This was when it once again got the unofficial name of " Grog Island" - from the fact that a lot of drinking went on here, as it used to 300 years earlier.
Quintons, The	Four, off King's Point, Sandys Parish.
Rabbit	Sometimes called Collins, perhaps after a family who owned land on the mainland. South west of Trunk Island and Major's Bay in Harrington Sound, it is a nature reserve leased to the Bermuda National Trust, therefore not accessible to the general public. Long tail birds and rabbits are common here. Members of the Bermuda Rifles and Bermuda Militia Artillery - and possibly other military units too - used to poach rabbits here during World War 2 to supplement their rations but this never appeared in any of the official records of these or the British Army or Royal Navy or Royal Canadian Navy or USA military records. Hamilton Parish.
Redshank	In the extreme south west of Harrington Sound, immediately off Green Bay. It was named after a bird that inhabited shores and nested here, with pale red legs and feet, now the common tern. Hamilton Parish.
Regatta	Two, south of The Crawl, Ireland Island, Sandys Parish.
Rickets	Between Burt's and Grace Islands, Great Sound, Warwick Parish.
Riddells	Riddells Bay, abutting Southampton and Warwick Parishes.
Rogue	0.25 acre, off Ferry Reach, St. George's Parish.
Rushy	1.5 acres, south of Castle Point, Tucker's Town, St. George's Parish. A nature reserve. No landing without official permission.

Rushy	Off Spanish Point, Pembroke Parish.
St. David's	The tranquility of this formerly largely rural and now suburban area of Bermuda was shaken forever when, during World War Two, more than three quarters were taken over for the construction of one of the two American military bases. The now closed US facility, first a US Army base, then a US Army Air Force, then Kindley AFB, then a US Naval Air Station, was located here for over 50 years. Once St. David's really was an island, 510 acres, originally one of the six principal Bermudas. It was connected in the 1930's to the mainland by the Severn Bridge, since dismantled. Today, it is connected to the mainland by a perimeter road skirting St. George's Harbor. St. David's Islanders have always been different to most other Bermudians. Some still have distinct characteristics of American Red Indian heritage. The St. David's Lighthouse has an interesting historical backdrop. Built in 1879 and periodically refurbished, it still serves as a beacon for mariners. But it was constructed to eliminate male St. David's Islanders luring ships with other kinds of lights to come too close to the reefs and get their bottoms torn out for easy plundering When the lighthouse defeated their illegal activities, they became fishermen and excellent pilots. Also well worth visits are the Great Head Battery and Park and, when open (usually on a Wednesday), Carter House, on the former US Naval Air Station, an excellent example of an historic Bermuda homestead saved from destruction when the US military arrived in 1941. It is a living museum of Bermudian history. Clearwater Beach and Park at Annie's Bay on Cooper's Island off St. David's is a 36 acre site with two public beaches closed to the public from 1941 to 1995 (during the 54 years Cooper's Island was a US Navy reserved area). It has nature trails and fine views of Nonsuch Island and Castle Harbor.
St. George's	Also once known as Tortoise, and Tortus. 703 acres, Bermuda's first colonized island, where Admiral Sir George Somers, Governor Sir Thomas Gates and colonists from the Sea Venture were shipwrecked in 1608 when en route to Virginia. Includes World Heritage Town of St. George and St. George's Parish. Now joined to Main by the Swing and Longbird Bridges and the Causeway. Bermuda's only airport is located in the Parish. One of Bermuda's six principle islands, St. George's Parish.
Saltus	About 2 acres, Soncy Bay in Hamilton Harbor, Pembroke Parish, only 100 meters from shore. It originally belonged to Richard Norwood, the great surveyor of Bermuda from 1616 and then his family. They lived on the Norwood property on the nearby Main Island. After Norwood's daughter died, it was sold and got its present name from the Bermuda family of Saltus, in particular Samuel Saltus (1800 to 1880) who - with his brother William - was a merchant, ship owner, member of the colonial parliament and founder of the private school that still bears his name, even though the family of that time died out with Samuel. The island has no buildings on it. In 1819, Dr. Theodore Gilbert tried vainly to get local merchants and ship owners to build a small hospital for strangers and seamen on it. He was one of the first to realize that the terrible infections Bermuda used to have in the 19th century of cowpox, smallpox, bubonic plague, dengue fever, typhoid fever, yellow fever, all had different causes, namely fleas or rats or louse or mosquito or soiled clothing - and came from seamen on foreign ships. Privately owned. Saltus Grammar School, with its Saltus Island Project, has been active. In February 2005 the latter project received a grant from the British Overseas Territories Environmental Programme for education and awareness training.
Smith's	61 acres, in St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish, was named for Sir Thomas Smith or Smythe, the first Governor of what later became the Somers Isles Company, an office he still held at the time of his death in 1625. He was an empire builder of immense energy and ability. The island is historically very significant, Bermuda's first settlement. It was here that Carter, Chard and Waters, who got the reputation of being the three "Kings of Bermuda" from 1610 to 1612, settled when they were the first accidental permanent colonists in Bermuda. They built cabins of palmetto, planted beans, watermelons, tobacco, maize, fished of the coast, hunted wild hogs, salted bacon and fish they caught and even made a fresh water catch. When the Plough arrived from England on July 11, 1612 with the first party of planned colonists, it went first to St. David's to discharge them then went two days later to an anchorage on the south shore of Smith's Island. Carter, Chard and Waters proudly displayed to Governor Richard Moore the varieties of garden produce they had grown. Moore was delighted because the Somers Isles Company in London had supplied him with 81 varieties of seed to try in Bermuda. Many of the first crops Virginia and the later American colonies had ever seen were planted on Smith's Island. It was the original home in Bermuda of the first planned settlers and they even made rock ovens for their food from the local limestone until they moved to St. George's Island and the Town of St. George in the summer and autumn of 1612. Twenty three acres on the western one third of the island are now a recreational area for Bermuda youth, owned jointly by the Bermuda Government and the Bermuda National Trust. It comes under the National Parks Act 1986. The Bermuda National Trust bought the acreage for $850,000 and the Bermuda Government paid the Trust $200,000 for a 23.5 percent share in the acreage. Thanks to local residents Mr. and Mrs. Robert Basist, the Trust was able to reforest certain areas it owns of the island with cedar trees.
Somerset	703 acres, it is one of Bermuda's six principal islands and the most western. It is joined to Main by Somerset Bridge and is connected to Boaz Island, Ireland Island and Watford Island by bridges and serviced by buses and ferries. In Sandys Parish.
Spectacle	Also known as Hunt's, north of Hinson's. One of two by this name in Bermuda but the only one in Paget Parish. In Hamilton Harbor.
Spectacle	Next to Perot's, Great Sound, Southampton Parish.
Stags, The	Off Shelly Bay, Hamilton Parish.
Stipple	Near Goat, Mill Shares and Point Shares, Pembroke Parish. A nature reserve.
Theta	Not accessible by ferry, only to those with a boat. Privately owned. Between Marshall's and Long Islands in the Great Sound. Warwick Parish.
Tilley	North shore, Pembroke Parish.
Tobacco Rock	North of Achilles Bay, near St. Catherine's Point off St. George's Island in St. George's Parish. It preserves the memory of Bermuda's earliest crop in which at one time salaries and wages were paid. It was intended that tobacco be Bermuda's staple crop and laws were passed in England to protect it as such. But Bermuda soil and conditions were never suitable.
Trunk	7 acres. Largest island in Harrington Sound. Mostly privately owned. It was once a summer camp for Bermudians including Girl Guides. There is an annual swimming race to and from there. It has a large house and cottage, a rugged shoreline with a small beach and sheltered coves for small craft. The Bermuda Zoological Society has a habitat restoration effort to replant native and endemic species, cull invasive species and include excursions to Trunk Island in its education and conservation programs.
Turtle	Privately owned, 1.5 acres east of Devil's Hole on south side of Harrington Sound, Smith's Parish. With a cable car system to pull it to nearby mainland. From the air, it has the general shape of a turtle.
Watford	4 acres, between Somerset and Ireland, connected to both via Watford Bridge and Little Watford Bridge, Sandy's Parish.
Watling	One-property residential, near Hinson's and Bluck's, Great Sound, Warwick Parish.
Whale	Ely's Harbor and Pilchard Bay, Sandys Parish.
Whalers'	Near Smith's, St. George's Harbor, St. George's Parish.
White's	Royal Gazette photo, White's Island Paget Parish. Originally Hunt's from the family that once owned many shares in old Bermuda. In the middle of Hamilton Harbor, now the property of the Corporation of Hamilton. Few Bermuda islands have had a more varied history. Most locals and visitors do not know that in the closing months of World War 1 it was sub leased to the United States Navy as an operating base for U boat chasers. An oil painting of the Stars and Stripes on the island's flag pole was painted then by a well known local artist. The lease lapsed at the end of the war. Has long been a campsite, with permission in advance directly from the Bermuda Government's Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation. Has a small beach. Also from where fireworks are let off periodically, after permission from Government.
Zeta	Warwick Parish. (Warwick North Central constituency). 1.5 acres, south of Port's, Great Sound. It is named for the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet.

Why past islands?

Past Bermuda islands

Big White's	Formerly 1 acre, destroyed in 1942 to help build former US States Naval Air Station on St. David's Island, St. George's Harbour, St. George's Parish.
Cave	Formerly 1.5 acres, absorbed by former US Naval Air Station, St. David's Island, St. George's Parish.
Cobbler's	Also Storehouse, Gallows, Butterfield, and Frasers. Now part of Ordnance Island, Town of St. George, St. George's Parish.
Cross	Also Sober or Magazine. Absorbed in the Royal Naval Dockyard's Camber, 1901. Sandys Parish.
Ducking Stool	Incorporated into Ordnance Island, Town of St. George, St. George's Parish.
Goats	Two, both incorporated into former US Naval Air Station, St. David's, St. George's Parish.
Grace	Castle Harbour, St. George's Parish. One of the islands granted to Lt. William Lang (died 1828) for the annual rate of one peppercorn. Incorporated into former US Naval Air Station.
Jones	Formerly 2.5 acres, now part of Causeway, St. George's Parish.
Little Round	Incorporated into former United States Naval Air Station and Causeway, St. George's Parish.
Little White's	Destroyed in 1943 for construction of the former US Naval Air Station, St. George's Parish.
Long	Formerly 2.5 acres, once near St. David's. One of the islands granted to Lt. William Lang (died 1828) for the annual rate of one peppercorn. Incorporated into the former US Naval Air Station, St. David's, St. George's Parish.
Long Bird	Once 62 acres, now Bermuda International Airport and part of former US Naval Air Station, St. David's, St. George's Parish.
Long Cay	Incorporated into the Causeway, St. George's Parish.
Morgan's	Once 13 acres, destroyed to create the former US Naval Annex, Southampton Parish.
Needles	Buried under (old, severed) Severn Bridge, St. George's Harbour, St. George's Parish.
Round	Formerly 0.5 acre. One of the islands granted to Lt. William Lang (died 1828) for the annual rate of one peppercorn. Absorbed into Bermuda International Airport and Causeway, St. George's Parish.
Sandy	Once 2 acres, now buried under the Causeway, St. George's Parish.
Stocks	Buried during 1934 building of Severn Bridge Road and Severn Bridge, now part of St. George's Island, St. George's Parish.
Tucker's	Also Brother's or Rivers. Formerly 20 acres, incorporated into now defunct US Naval Annex, Southampton Parish.
Westcott	Once 5 acres, now part of the former US Naval Air Station, St. David's, St. George's Parish.
World's End	Once south of Point Shares, removed for the construction of Two Rock Channel to enter Hamilton Harbour and the city of Hamilton, Pembroke Parish.

Devonshire	Hamilton	Paget
Pembroke	Sandys	Smith's
Southampton	Warwick	St. George's

Bermuda International Airport	City of Hamilton	Town of St. George
in St. George's Parish	in Pembroke Parish	in St. George's Parish

Darrell's. Warwick Parish. (Warwick North Central constituency). Owned by the Bermuda Government. This 15 acre island in the Great Sound has a unique history. It was once a quarantine station for epidemics in 1699, 1796 and 1799 of small pox, yellow fever and cholera. It was a designated prisoner of war Island Camp during the Boer War. 1,100 involuntary inhabitants shipped to Bermuda from South Africa included Generals of the Boer Army. Many prisoners of war died in Bermuda. A memorial to them is on Long Island nearby
In 1936, the island became a purpose built maintenance, refueling station and terminal for flying boats of Pan American and Imperial Airways (now British Airways). They pioneered commercial USA to Bermuda flying routes. It was Bermuda's first permanent facility for aircraft. May 25, 1937 was a proud day for Bermuda. The Imperial Airways' Short Empire C class flying boat RMA Cavalier took off from the unofficially opened and not quite finished Darrell's Island Marine Air Terminal in the Great Sound, for New York. At the same time, the Pan American Airways' Sikorsky S-42, NC 16735, by Bermuda Clipper, also flew from Port Washington, NY to Bermuda. She did a successful reciprocal survey of the route.
On June 12, 1937 the million dollar terminal building at Darrell's Island Airport was formally opened. Bermuda become THE mid Atlantic seaplane and flying boat airport base and resort. It was also the date of the inaugural flights of the Cavalier and Bermuda Clipper. Both landed safely. Both flying boats took off from Port Washington, New York. RMA Cavalier was commanded by Capt. Neville Cumming, with co-pilot First Officer Neil Richardson, radio engineer Patrick Chapman, and steward Robert Spence. Bermuda Clipper was commanded by Capt. R. O. D. Sullivan.

Bermuda's 123 Islands

Some were destroyed to create British and American military bases

Parishes (counties)

Landmarks

Nearest land beyond Bermuda

Alphabetical list of all the many islands - present and past

Bermuda Islands - presently

A to B

C to Daniels

Why past islands?

Past Bermuda islands

125+ files on other aspects of Bermuda