Having spent many happy days out in Scarborough on the Yorkshire coastline, I was keen to visit another Scarborough, this one on the slightly more exotic southern coast of Tobago.
BOTANICAL GARDENS
The Botanical Gardens, founded in the 19th century on a former sugar plantation, were relatively small and more akin to a park, with manicured rolling lawns dotted with trees and shrubs. It was hard to miss the grand avenue of Royal Palms, which as my husband is called Roy, I knew had the Latin name Roystonea Regia. The avenue led up a steep path which provided views over the town and port, where the inter-island ferry, Galleons Passage, was arriving from Trinidad.
None of the trees were labelled, but I recognized a huge Silk Cotton tree which people refuse to cut down as they believe it has mystical properties. Another huge tree I’d seen on previous travels was the Samanea Saman, known as the monkey pod tree. Our knowledgeable guide Cheri-ann, was on hand to tell us about the more unfamiliar species including the Vegetable Hummingbird plant or Sesbania grandiflora because the shape of the flowers resemble the beak of the small birds.
There were several fruit trees, in particular many variety of mango, often named after their shape e.g. long or round, and the more unusual Sapodilla tree with its small round fruits said to have a sweet, malt-like taste. A Bread Fruit tree is known in Tobago as the quickest divorce – in old time wedding ceremonies in Moriah, a young, green bread fruit would be carried on the head of a family member symbolising the bride’s virginity. If the bride was found not to be a virgin, the bread fruit would be returned along with the bride.
FORT KING GEORGE
One of the similarities between the two Scarborough’s are hills, and as Fort George was located on Scarborough Hill overlooking the town, we were pleased not to be walking. The fort was built by the British in 1777 as a defence for the newly appointed capital and during a short-lived French occupation, was called Fort Castries. But when the British retook Tobago in 1793, it was renamed Fort King George. There were good views of Bacolet Bay, and it was easy to see why its position had been chosen with many canons, bearing the George III insignia, facing seawards.
There were two museums: the more recent Icons of Tobago Museum, celebrating the island’s musical legends; and the older, more traditional Tobago Museum, housed in what was the Barrack Guardhouse. Unfortunately, they were both only open from Monday to Friday, which was disappointing for weekend visitors like us.
The formal recommissioning of the Fort King George Lighthouse, moved from Trinidad in 1958, had taken place literally weeks before our visit, and looked particularly grand, but rather squat.
We saw the walls of the former Powder Magazine, dating back to the French occupation, which had been shell proof and capable of storing 600 barrels of gunpowder.
There was also a large stone dome, called a Bell Tank, which covered an underground water cistern with a capacity of 35,000 gallons.
Whilst it was pleasant to wander around, there wasn’t actually a lot to keep us amused.
PETIT TROU LAGOON
Our final stop of the day was Petit Trou Lagoon where, having walked through a wooden arch, a beautifully constructed wooden boardwalk took us through the mangroves. We could still see the remnants of an oil spill, from a mystery vessel in 2024, which had decimated the coastline. It had resulted in a huge clean-up operation and white oil absorbing ‘draft excluders’ were still present, although the wildlife and vegetation was beginning to return and regenerate. There were several paths, but we continued until we reached a large deck in the lagoon. Apart from meeting a small group of people leaving just as we were entering the area, we had the place to ourselves, and it was a real highlight of our tour.
