Farley Hill

Farley Hill was one of the grandest great houses on the island, built from the 1850s and extended for a royal visit, and it stood on a ridge at around three hundred metres looking down over the Scotland District. It was used as a location for the 1957 film Island in the Sun and then, in 1965, it burned. The shell was left standing and the grounds around it made a national park: mahogany, cabbage palm, casuarina and flowering trees on lawns, with the ruin in the middle and picnic tables under the canopy. The Barbados Jazz Festival has used the grounds, and the view east is one of the best on the island.

What you actually see

• The burnt shell - the great house standing roofless in the park.
• The mahogany park - mature trees and lawns around the ruin.
• The east coast view - down over the Scotland District to the Atlantic.
• The film history - the house's role as a location before the fire.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Mornings are cool and quiet; weekends bring local families for picnics. It takes about ninety minutes. Concerts in the grounds happen occasionally and change the character entirely.

Honest expectations

The house is a fenced shell and cannot be entered, so what you get is a park with a ruin in it. It is small and takes ninety minutes. Facilities are basic picnic tables and toilets. The road up is narrow.

Nearby

The wildlife reserve is next door; Cherry Tree Hill is ten minutes.