Paget Parish Things to Do Tips by grandmaR

Waterville

Built before 1735, Waterville is one of the oldest houses on Bermuda. It was home to seven generations of the prominent Trimingham family. Originally, from the house's cellar storage rooms in 1842, James Harvey Trimingham started the retail business that was to become Trimingham Brothers. Sailors could row in to the dock and buy goods.

The Trimingham store which used to be one of the main stores on Front Street has gone out of business because the children did not want to carry on with it. The house and grounds are now the National Trust Headquarters. The house has been restored to the 1811 period's style. The drawing and dining rooms, both laden with art and antiques donated by the family, are open to the public during business hours

While the house is nice, the main thing to visit is the Heritage Rose Garden created by the Bermuda Rose Society in 1988 with wide varieties of old Bermuda roses.

There is no admission fee at the Waterville.

Open Hours
Monday - Friday: 9am-5pm

Address: 5 The Lane (Harbour Rd.), At Pomander Rd, Bermuda

Phone: 441-236-6483

Website: http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2_0000f7.htm

Premier House

While in the Botanical Gardens, visit historic 'Camden', the official residence of the Premier. No Premiers have actually lived there, but receptions and dinner parties are regularly held at the residence. There is a beautiful cedar-panelled dining room, which is said to have taken up to thirty years to complete.

From the website: "Francis Jones, eldest son of Colonel Thomas Jones of Paget Parish, purchased the home and lived there until his death from yellow fever on September 12, 1796. William Durham acquired it in 1810, then sold it to the Hon. Henry James Tucker in 1823.

"Henry James Tucker, Mayor of Hamilton the from 1851 to 1870, began to produce arrowroot on a large scale in a factory at the back of the house. The verandah, porch and bow windows in the dining room and drawing room were probably added by his son Thomas Fowle Jauncey Tucker, a bachelor, who continued the mercantile business and arrowroot factory. The Tucker Arrowroot Trade Mark was well respected for quality. Thomas Tucker died at Camden on January 24, 1892, without a will.

"The property passed to Boswell Tucker in London, England. In October, 1894, Camden and 23 acres of land were sold to Alexander Ewing Tucker for 3,500 pounds. He, wife Violet, and his two sisters Mary and Kate, were the last Tuckers at Camden. Alexander died on August 10, 1934. Violet resided there until her death in 1965. The property then passed to Alexander's cousins, Sir Henry Tucker and his brother Noel Tucker. They sold it to the Bermuda Government as an extension to the Botanical Gardens."

'Camden' is open Tuesday and Friday (unless official functions are scheduled). I don't think we got to see the main house. It was closed for lunch while we were there and we wanted to get to Spittal Pond, so we had to leave. We just toured the outbuildings.

Bermuda Botanical Garden & Arboretum

In my search for free and low cost things to do on Bermuda, I found the Botanical Guarden. We had to get off at the hospital and then walk to the garden.

It is the largest local public garden by far the gardens were begun in 1898.

Open daily from sunrise to sunset 365 days a year. Free for 362 days (except during the Agricultural Exhibition every April).

A mix of park, woodland, greenhouses, agricultural buildings and horticultural collections. Chiefly of interest for its trees, orchard, collection of orchids and Camden. Visitors should expect a fair amount of walking.

There are free guided tours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from the Car Park outside the Visitors Service Centre.

We took the tour and learned about the few species of plants and trees that are endemic, the considerable number that are native and the vast majority that were introduced.

At that time there were also stables on the grounds and horse shows were held here.

Address: 169 South Road in Paget Parish DV 04.

Directions: One mile from the City of Hamilton, via Berry Hill Road, Point Finger Road and South Road. Bus routes 1, 2 and 7 go to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital nearby.

Phone: (441) 236-4201

Website: http://www.bermuda-online.org/gardens.htm