y a w k l a W l u f r e Wond Bequia’s
New photo of walkway to come from Wilfred
Wilfred Dederer
For almost two decades the wonderful Belmont Walkway, which meanders along the waterfront of Admiralty Bay, has provided locals and visitors with a delightful link between land and sea.
Courtesy Pat Mitchell
The ‘New’ Belmont Walkway The newly restored Belmont Walkway is a treasure for Bequia. It is now possible to stroll the south side of Admiralty Bay, right by the water’s edge, from the Port Hole and Tommy’s restaurant, as far as Mrs. Wallace’s house, Circa 1960s - a pre-walkway photo showing stretch of beach in front of past the Fig Tree, and, with a what is now the Frangipani Hotel. further skip and a jump, along the elegant frontage of Mimosa, to the old Plantation House Hotel. How wonderful not to feel that slight unease when trespassing onto someone’s property in order to avoid a particularly precarious stretch! What a relief not to feel compelled to explain to a new visitor, sometimes in vain, that walking on that invitingly flat but slippery part in front of the Green Boley could be dangerous. “Oh, it’s fine”, they would protest, as we prepared once again to deal with a bloody scrape, or worse. The private organization, Action Bequia, spearheaded by Richard Roxburgh, is the instrument behind the reconstruction of the Walkway. Financing was secured from a wide range of sources including visitors, Bequia homeowners, the Bequia Tourism Association and the general community, with significant backing from the Grenadines Partnership Fund. The design was created by local architect Mike Connell. Bequia waterfront businesses assisted in various ways providing access, water, ice and electricity. The Fig Tree celebrated completion with a reception for the crew. Once upon a time, in Bequia’s history, the walkway was not necessary. How often have I heard, “Oh you used to be able to 78 •
The Ins & Outs of St. Vincent & The Grenadines
by Pat Mitchell
drive along the beach right to the Plantation House.” I must admit that I do not ever remember that being possible in my 45 years on the island, but I reckon it must once have been so, as it seems an indelible part of Bequia’s tribal memory. Certainly during the seventies and eighties I can verify that you could drive along the beach to the Frangipani and park your vehicle right there. Driving back after closing time often proved more difficult however, judging by the number of mokes that ended up in the sea! The idea for the walkway was born of necessity. We noticed the sea eroding the foundations of the front wall of what is now the property in front of the Gingerbread Suites. A couple of loads of large stones held back the waves, saving the wall, but this made negotiating the waterfront difficult when the tide was high. There were, I remember, two stone walls on the land at right angles to the sea which everyone blithely scaled whenever the urge for one of Mac’s pizzas became overwhelming. This option did not seem such a good idea, however, once the suites were being built, and it was then that Gingerbread decided to concrete over these same stones. Thus, with relative ease, a new path for the public along the sea edge - the Belmont Walkway - was born. Other private work was done in front of the Wallace House, and by what is now Mimosa. But the real breakthrough came when Prime Minister James Mitchell arranged for the government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines to give a contract to the Barbados construction company who had just, in 1992, completed the Bequia Airport. It was their expertise that completed the path along the waterfront. When a subsequent storm destroyed the section in front of the Old Fig Tree, the government built the substantial wall which still protects that land, which otherwise would have been washed away.