Pembroke Parish

From back o’ town to Fairylands, and everything between, Pembroke Parish encompasses a diverse world of Bermudian culture on the city coattails of Hamilton [1], which sits within the parish. Encompassing the soaring insurance towers of Pitts Bay, the grandiose, old-money mansions of the harborfront, the salt-sprayed charm of Spanish Point [2], and the vibrantly scrappy chutzpah of the Marsh Folly community, Pembroke might be the best microcosm of Bermuda as a whole—the best, worst, richest, and least fortunate distilled into its coasts and valleys.

Once the rural environs of Hamilton, where the distant clip-clop of horse hooves or the splash of oars from a skiff rowing past were the only disturbances, Pembroke now is completely suburban, even 100 percent urban in parts, because the borders shared with Hamilton have blurred. Its once-tranquil neighborhoods now bear the aural scar of roaring traffic.

Pembroke begins where Hamilton ends: all points west of Bermudiana Road, east of King Street as far as the Devonshire [3] border, and north of Parson’s Lane to the North Shore. The main routes include Pitts Bay Road, which winds out of the city into tony residential neighborhoods, all the way to Cox’s Hill and St. John’s Road, which connects with Spanish Point Road. North Shore Road runs along the northern edge of the parish as far as Mission Lane, when it enters Devonshire. East Broadway leads out of Hamilton along the harbor’s edge to Crow Lane [4]. Parson’s, Palmetto, and Marsh Folly Roads are major thoroughfares through the belly of the parish north of Hamilton. Langton Hill and the dramatic Blackwatch Pass cut north through the parish to the North Shore.

The variety of interesting neighborhoods makes for great explorations, from Spanish Point [2], a self-contained community steeped in maritime history, to Fairylands and Point Shares, where high pastel walls hide centuries-old waterfront spreads, and areas of North Hamilton, where West Indian cafés and local playgrounds reveal a totally different facet of Bermudian life.

Getting to Pembroke Parish

The beauty of staying in Pembroke is that all points in Hamilton [1] are walkable. Pembroke has no ferry service.

Numerous bus routes serve Pembroke, all departing from the central bus terminal in Hamilton (Washington St. at Church St., tel. 441/295-4311, information and dispatch 441/292-3854, www.bermudabuses.com [5]). To visit Spanish Point [2], take Route No. 4 (buses run every 20 minutes). Routes 10 and 11 (every 15 minutes) head north through Pembroke on their way to St. George’s; 10 takes North Shore Road (Blackwatch Pass) and 11 goes via Palmetto Road. Route No. 5 (hourly, or every half hour at peak commuter times) travels to Pond Hill via Glebe Road.

Route No. 9 (hourly) runs between Hamilton and Prospect, Devonshire [3]. Bus Routes 2 (hourly) and 3 (every half hour) head east out of Hamilton, the No. 2 along East Broadway (Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute), and the No. 3 along Cavendish Road into Devonshire (Fort Hamilton). Fares to Hamilton Parish [6] and St. George’s are $4.50, to all other areas on these routes $3 (exact change, or tokens, tickets, or passes required).

There are taxi stands outside the Fairmont Princess Hotel. To order a cab, call Bermuda Taxi Radio Cabs (tel. 441/295-4141) or Bermuda Industrial Union Taxi Co-op (tel. 441/292-4476), both based in Hamilton.