Exploring Antigua and Barbuda
This rambling array of gun emplacements and military buildings is best known today for the absolutely breathtaking prospect that it offers. From the Heights one can look far out over English Harbour, and on Sunday afternoons the view is accompanied by barbecue, rum punch, and the plangent strains of steel band and reggae music. The site is named for General Shirley, Governor of the Leeward Islands when the area was fortified in the late eighteenth century. Close by is the cemetery, in which stands an obelisk erected in honour of the soldiers of the 54th regiment.
Sea View Farm Village Antiguan folk pottery dates back at least to the early 18th century, when slaves fashioned cooking vessels from local clay. Today, folk pottery is fashioned in a number of places around Antigua, but the center of this cottage industry is Sea View Farm Village. The clay is collected from pits located nearby, and the wares are fired in an open fire under layers of green grass in the yards of the potters' houses. Folk pottery can be purchased at outlets in the village as well as at a number of stores around the island. Buyers should be aware that Antiguan folk pottery breaks rather easily in cold environments.
This charming museum tells the story of Antigua and Barbuda from its geological birth through the present day. A cool oasis in the middle of St. John's, the museum contains a wide variety of fascinating objects and exhibits, ranging from a life-size replica of an Arawak dwelling to the bat of Viv Richards, one of the greatest cricket players of all time. Visit their website at: www.antiguamuseums.org SUPPORT THE MUSEUM by becoming a member of the Historical and Archaeological Society, a vibrant and dedicated group of persons interested in preserving the past to enrich the future. Membership entitles you to:
Image on top via Flickr (cc) user David Stanley
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Shirley
Heights
Harmony
Hall, in Brown's Bay at Nonsuch Bay, is the center of the Antiguan
arts community. Exhibits change throughout the year, but the annual
highlights are the Antigua Artist's Exhibition and the Craft Fair,
both in November. The sugar mill tower around which Harmony Hall
is built has been converted to a bar and provides its patrons with
one of the island's best panoramic views, including a fine prospect
of Nonsuch Bay. 
