Fort Good Hope

Fort Good Hope, Goede Hoop in Dutch, was built at Senya Beraku from 1705 as a small trading lodge and enlarged into a proper fort in the 1720s when the traffic in enslaved people expanded, with a courtyard, bastions and holding rooms below. The Dutch held it until the 1868 exchange with Britain. It sits on rock directly above a working fishing village, with canoes drawn up on the beach beneath the walls, and for a period in the twentieth century it operated as a government rest house, which left it in better repair than some of its neighbours though the accommodation has since lapsed. It is one of the components of the World Heritage inscription on the coastal forts.

What you actually see

• The compact fort - the small bastioned Dutch structure on the rock.
• Holding rooms - the chambers below the courtyard.
• The fishing village - canoes and drying nets on the beach below.
• The courtyard - the enclosed centre of the fort.

When to go

November to March for the dry season. Mornings are when the fishing beach is busiest and coolest for the walk up. Visits are with a caretaker guide.

Honest expectations

The fort is small and the visit brief. Maintenance has lapsed and parts are decayed. The caretaker may be absent, so arriving unannounced sometimes means waiting. Fees are informal.

Nearby

Winneba lies east; Fort Patience at Apam is west along the coast.