Bermuda Railway Trail

Bermuda's railway ran only from 1931 to 1948 - locals called it the Rattle and Shake - before cars arrived and the rolling stock was sold abroad. The islanders kept the best part: the right-of-way, which now threads the island end to end as a walking and cycling trail of roughly eighteen miles in linked sections. It is Bermuda with the traffic removed - turquoise coves below the embankments, oleander and allspice tunnels, old limestone cuttings, and footbridges over inlets where the swimming stops suggest themselves. Sections range from pushchair-flat strolls to longer shore-hugging stretches, each with road access at both ends.

History

Two years after the government granted the Bermuda Railway Company a 40-year charter, construction began in 1926, and the line opened on 31 October 1931, a single-track standard-gauge railway of 21.7 miles from St. George's to Somerset with 14 passing sidings. Laid along the coast to save buying land, it needed 33 trestles and bridges over the sea, more than 10 percent of its length, and it was said to be one of the most expensive railways ever built; rot, corrosion and the coming of private cars ended it on 1 May 1948 (Wikipedia, Bermuda Railway).

What's there

• The coastal sections - the West End stretches above the turquoise shallows.
• The garden tunnels - oleander, fiddlewood and allspice arching the path.
• The restored footbridges - the spans reconnecting the trail across inlets.
• Swimming detours - coves off the embankment reached in minutes.

When to go

April to October gives swimming weather at the detours; winter walking is mild and quiet. Mornings beat both heat and the scooter hum of parallel roads. The trail is unlit - daylight only.

Things to know

The trail is interrupted - road sections link some segments, and wayfinding at the joins takes attention. Surfaces vary from smooth to rutted coral dust; trainers suffice but wheels want the groomed stretches. There are no facilities on the trail itself - carry water and plan around the parishes' shops.

Nearby

The Royal Naval Dockyard anchors the western trailhead; St George's the eastern end.