Jamestown, Capital of St. Helena

Wedged between the steep sides of a volcanic valley is the capital of St. Helena, Jamestown, and our arrival point on the island. A lovely little town, only two streets wide and lined with colourfully painted Georgian buildings and reminiscent of a country village of a by gone era with post office, grocery stores, pubs and hotels lining the high street.

High above Jamestown is the town of Half Tree Hollow and connecting the two is the famous Jacobs Ladder. Originally a funicular railway to transport goods the 700ft from sea level to cliff top. We climbed the 699 steps of the ladder each day to our accommodation in the interior of the island.

We stayed at Princes Lodge, once the Bishop of St. Helena's residence, with a wide veranda and commanding views of the Atlantic Ocean 1500ft below.

The harbour side of Jamestown is protected by a moat and thick castle wall and gate, ostensibly to keep out invading forces but in more recent years has saved the town from flooding from high seas. Along the castle wall is an open air swimming pool. The 33m length, we suspect, is an artifact of the space available as much as anything. As with Ascension Island it was on our tick list to swim in the pool and we managed to squeeze in a 1/2 hour swim while waiting to reboard the RMS at the end of our all too short stay on St. Helena.