Important Notice
Please note this program will not be running in Summer 2021. View available options >>
Study Abroad in Bridgetown: Cultural Excursions
West to North Coast (day trips)
Included in program fee
- Visit to Quaw’s Monument - erected in memory of 256 liberated Africans
- Visit the first Free Village in Barbados, monument to a slave family in Rock Hall and view representations of dwelling spaces for enslaved and newly freed Africans
- Travel up the coast to Speightstown for typical Bajan lunch at a locally owned restaurant and visit to the community museum at Arlington House to learn some of the dynamics of the plantation history of the island
- Visit to St. Nicholas Abbey, a plantation house, museum and rum distillery which gives a sense of the history of the plantation economy and its significance in shaping the culture of the island. The house is one of only 3 genuine Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere
East and North Coast (day trip)
Included in program fee
- Travel through St. Joseph, Hackelton Cliffs, Joe’s River and Bathsheba and discover the significance of the Atlantic coast and its connection to the African continent
- Visit Chalky Mount and learn about the cottage industry of pottery with opportunity to speak with local potters
- Visit an organic farm run by a Rastafari family and learn about local farming customs and foodways and traditional basket weaving
- Short hike through one of the last remaining virgin forests in Barbados, Turner’s Hall Woods
- Lunch in Belleplain, a rural community on the coast of St. Andrew
- Visit Morgan Lewis Windmill and learn about the sugar cane industry
Southeast (day trip)
Included in program fee
- Visit Gun Hill Signal Station (central communication point to transfer information across the island)
- Visit Sunbury Plantation and Four Square Rum Distillery
- Visit the site of the first slave uprising on Bailey’s Plantation and then the village of Kongo Road, reputed to be a space of importance for freed blacks to engage in commerce
- Visit Harry Smith Beach, an interesting beach for its significance as a space for fisherman to trade in contraband goods and also an area for enslaved persons to escape by sea
- Visit to the Newton Plantation and Burial Ground — one of the most intact burial sites for enslaved Africans
Bridgetown (day trip)
Tour of sites of historical significance in Bridgetown including:
- Walking tour of St. Michael Cathedral and Burial Grounds
- Legends Cricket Museum or Parliament Museum
- Visit to the Jewish Synagogue
- Visit to Museum and Historical Society with guided tour of collection and conversation with Deputy Director of the Museum and curator of the Africa exhibition wing of the museum
Dates and itineraries for all excursions are tentative and subject to change.