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Paget Marsh Bermuda
2 hours guided walking tour
Paget Marsh, a lush and leafy nature reserve is jointly maintained by the Bermuda National Trust and Bermuda Audubon Society.
It's a unique green space of 25 acres. The peat marsh has remained much the same since the arrival of the first settlers. The marsh is covered with cedar and palmetto forest.
much of the Paget marsh can be accessed by wooden boardwalk that extends into depths and winds past the pond, mangroves, grasslands and the forest area.
The pond and marsh are home to an array of wildlife, including many species of resident and migratory birds.
As you walk around, the signs present the story of this marsh, from how it developed to how it is being preserved today. As the mangroves have largely overgrown the water, a new half-acre pond was excavated in 1998, and there is a boardwalk which is being constructed, starting at the Lovers' Lane entrance to the reserve.
Paget Marsh Bermuda, Boardwalk
The new pond is called "David's Pond", named after the conservation officer David Wingate who was the main person behind this boardwalk.
The pond is attracting an ever-increasing number of waterbirds. The old pond is named "Dennis's Pond", in honor of Mr Dennis Sherwin, former President of the Bermuda National Trust, who donated the money for the boardwalk.
Before the boardwalk was constructed, it was quite difficult and even hazardous to explore the marsh on foot. In the first phase, 300 feet of boardwalk has been completed and as you walk over it you can see five different ecosystems.
Dr Wingate says, "There are pure stands of red mangrove, saw-grass, savanna, original cedar and palmetto canopy, with native ferns covering the floor, and intermediate woodland with wax myrtle, wood shrubs and bushy areas. The boardwalk goes through all these habitats."
In Paget Marsh one can understand how Bermuda's interior valleys looked to the first settlers before the clearing began. The palmettos are so numerous that the ground is covered with dead leaf fronds.
While the admission to the Paget Marsh is free, you can avail an excellent guided tour.
Guide Tim Rogers first takes you through the gardens at Waterville, where you learn about the unusual plants and features of their traditional garden.
Then view the elegant house, with its fine collection of antiques, and learn about life in colonial Bermuda. A short drive away, the tour then continues through Paget Marsh, a Trust reserve that provides a great opportunity to view pre-colonial vegetation.
Tour Details
The Waterville & Paget Marsh is a two hours guided tour. It begins at 10am on Wednesdays. Tour cost is $60 and includes taxi, refreshments and a National Trust combo-ticket to all three Trust museums ( Verdmont, Tucker House and the National Trust Museum at Globe Hotel).
UPDATE Feb 2013: Paget Marsh boardwalk is closed to pedestrians. Some sections of the boardwalk have rotted and would require repairs before it is reopened.
Location & Contacts
Lovers Lane, Paget Parish.
Bus Routes: #2, 7 and 8.
Call Waterville at 441 236-6483 by Tuesday afternoon to reserve.
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