Pigeon Island and the forts: the island France and Britain fought over

About Pigeon Island and the forts: the island France and Britain fought over

By the ULTIMATE St Lucia Editorial Team

The tourism authority calls the island’s forts and ruins the story of an island shaped by exploration, conflict and culture. Here is where to find it.

Pigeon Island National Landmark

Pigeon Island guarded Rodney Bay in the 18th century, when France and Britain fought repeatedly over Saint Lucia. Today the Saint Lucia National Trust looks after its ruins: barracks, batteries, old cannons and the two-gun battery above the sea. A short climb leads to Fort Rodney, built in the 1780s, and a longer one to Signal Peak, the highest point, with views over Rodney Bay, Gros Islet and the coast. A small museum covers the island’s military history, archaeology and nature. Two quiet beaches and the Jambe de Bois café make it an easy half day.

Morne Fortune and Fort Charlotte

The hill behind Castries commands the harbour, which made it a key stronghold for both sides. The remains of Fort Charlotte and other fortifications are spread across the hill, and it is now one of the best lookouts over the capital and the cruise port.

History meets some of the best viewpoints on the island.

Castries

In the capital, the National Museum, in a former colonial building, tells the island’s story from its Indigenous peoples through French and British rule to independence. Derek Walcott Square is named after the poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992; he was born in Castries on 23 January 1930, and Sir Arthur Lewis, the economist who shared the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, was born in Castries on 23 January 1915, the same day of the year. Beside the square, the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is one of the largest churches in the Caribbean. Castries Market has traded since 1891.

Plantations and the south

Sugar and cocoa shaped the island’s history. Balenbouche, an 18th-century sugar estate near Laborie, keeps its mill ruins; Fond Doux and Rabot show the cocoa side; and Mamiku Gardens, on the east coast, go back to 1766, when the Baron de Micoud bought the estate. In the south, Vieux Fort was developed as a military base in the Second World War before becoming the island’s aviation hub.

The name

By tradition, the island is named after Saint Lucy, and the Festival of Lights on the eve of National Day, 13 December, honours her as the island’s namesake. Its old nickname is “the Helen of the West”.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Pigeon Island and the forts: the island France and Britain fought over before you go.