The Queen's Staircase

The Queen's Staircase is a passage roughly thirty metres deep cut straight down through the limestone ridge behind Nassau, with sixty-six steps in it, carved by hand by enslaved people in the 1790s to give the garrison at Fort Fincastle a direct route to the town without exposing it to fire from the harbour. It was named for Queen Victoria in the nineteenth century, in recognition of her role in ending slavery in the British empire, which sits oddly with who actually cut it. The walls are damp and hung with vines and a small waterfall runs down one side. Fort Fincastle, shaped like a ship's bow, stands at the top.

What you actually see

• The staircase - sixty-six steps cut by hand through solid rock.
• The rock walls - thirty metres of limestone hung with vines.
• Fort Fincastle - the ship-shaped fort at the top of the steps.
• The water tower - the island's highest point, beside the fort.

When to go

December to May is the dry season. Early morning avoids both the heat and the cruise passengers, who arrive in numbers from mid-morning. The passage itself is shaded and cool, which is welcome.

Honest expectations

It is a ten-minute visit and is heavily worked by vendors and unofficial guides who attach themselves at the bottom; a firm no is needed. On cruise days the staircase is a queue. The site is small and the history is presented lightly, with the enslaved labour that cut it barely acknowledged on the signage.

Nearby

Fort Fincastle is at the top; downtown Nassau is a short walk.