BAR RUN...
Bridgetown, making its way a short hop along the coast, with non-stop drinks flowing. Prices start from around €100 a head for an hour-anda-half cruising, with an open bar.
With the beautiful turquoise waters it’s hard to stay out of the sea with scuba diving, kite surfing and snorkelling just some of the bucket list activities you can do on the island. Speaking of drinks, Barbados is the birthplace of that golden and sublime elixir, rum.
Visit the Mount Gay Rum distillery for a guide through the history of the world’s oldest rum brand, or better yet, head to one of the many shacks dotted across Barbados and sample the good stuff with the friendly locals.
One place on the island where the
never stops pouring is the legendary Oistins Fish Fry.
Head to the southern village every Friday and Saturday night for some amazing fish, party atmosphere and bust some moves, with the rum helping to loosen those hips.
For the history buffs there’s plenty to see and do.
Colonised by the British in the early 17th century, there’s lots of nods to the past in the capital Bridgetown.
Morgan Lewis Windmill is the only intact sugar mill in Barbados located in the northern parish of St Andrew and well worth a visit.
St Nicholas Abbey, in the parish of St Peter, was built in 1658 and is one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions in the Western
Hemisphere. Barbados is home to two, the other being Drax Hall.
Another group of people, besides the British, who left their mark on Barbados were pirates. One of the most infamous was Sam Lord.
Legend says he used to hang lanterns in the coconut trees on the beach near his castle to attract ships.
They mistook the lanterns for the lights of the capital city and wrecked their ships on the reefs, with Sam and his crew then boarding the ships and plundering them.
A place on the island that was round way before Sam and his friends was Harrison’s Cave.
A massive underground maze of limestone caverns you can experirum
ence on board an electric tram, winding its way along the tunnels so you can admire the cave’s stalagmites and stalactites which rise up into the air like skyscrapers in this subterranean world.
Also rising up like a mini skyscraper outside the Kensington Oval is a statue of Sir Garfield Sobers.
For a cricket lover like me to see such an historic ground was a moment to remember.
The game is loved throughout the West Indies but even more so in Barbados, its strong links with England the reason perhaps.
But if you think the Caribbean is all about cricket you’d be wrong. There is all sorts of sporting events on over the course of the year including the Barbados Adventure Race – a gruelling obstacle course for those of you who have things like protein shakes for breakfast.
And for the petrol heads there’s Rally Barbados, with participants and fans coming from all over the world to watch and take part.
Whether you’re going to the Caribbean for that once in a liftetime, laze on the beach all day trip or for Run Barbados 2024, the island paradise is waiting to welcome you with open arms and a glass of cool rum punch.
Rising like a skyscraper outside the Kensington Oval is Sir Garfield