Fort King George

A drone shot view of Fort King George atop a hill that rises in the middle of the city

Here we are again on another expedition, this time, exploring an archaic fort left back from the colonial times of the Caribbean island of Tobago when the Bitish were very much in charge (and sometimes the French). The fort is currently referred to as “Fort King George” after King George III, in 1804. This tourist attraction is situated in the heart of the Scarborough, the capital city of Tobago and provides a great all around view as it is built atop a hill that rises amidst the city. We will be exploring around fort and its peculiarities as well as its history and architecture that was left behind by the British.

There seemed to be a museum right in the carpark but it was closed for renovations and so we did not venture into it. The main attraction was open, which was the fort and so we continued with that anyway!

The view from the carpark which was quite empty

As soon as we got out of the car, we could see the canons that are characteristic of forts in and around Tobago. Our eyes though were immediately drawn by brilliant hues of red and green that shone in the Caribbean Sun. This was due to the crimson red flowers from these trees that were in full bloom! They were so mesmerizing and beautiful that I almost forgot about the canons and the sprawling vistas that being on a fort atop a hill provided!

As we got closer the red and greens were so amazingly pretty to me that I had to try to capture it with my camera. Luckily I was able to bring out how it looked in real life in post with due to the dynamic range of the camera sensor.

The view of the above photo is as one was looking up from under the tree. I was not sure if the mirrorless camera would capture the moment faithfully but it did a really great job!

Under the tree was a brick wall just at the edge of a steep drop off with a line of canons that pointed towards the southern Caribbean sea. From here you could see all the way down to the town below as well as the ocean.

There were also some of those lookout monoculars that you could use for free to look out into the distance to see what one could see and there was a lot to see without doubt.

The two above photos were the views from the left and right side of the wall respectively. Once could see the coastlines for both the western and eastern parts of the island.

The main building of the fort where the garrisons were supposedly kept was right next to the tree and canons as well. The Fort King George sign was right in front of it with a bit of history and background on it. The building looked sturdy and colonial in nature with those small beige bricks and the subsequent weathering and algae.

Here is a closeup of the sign so you can read of the history from way way back! As you would read, little Tobago was always in between tugs of war and quickly went back and forth in control amongst the colonial powers at the time such as the British, the French and the Dutch.

We decided to walk around the building and take in the architecture of an ancient barracks where soldiers from a far away distant land, left their families and stayed, slept, ate and drank within those walls and fought and died as well during squabbles for the island.

The windows were especially peculiar with their columnar styled wooden plants and steel/ metal hinges that gave the feel of an era long gone. We quickly realized that the windows and doors were closed as well as the buildings were cordoned off for renovations.

This is a view of what it was like within the corridors. I imagined myself as if I were one of the soldiers walking around paths they would have walked. How many of them would have thought that some dude with a high tech drone and camera would be thinking about them some day way into the future?

Next we moved to the lighthouse right in front of the main building. This lighthouse structure seemed to be more recently constructed like in the last few decades and was well painted. I'm not sure if it was still operational or in use.

There were also some canons next to the lighthouse as shown above that seemed to be lighter and longer than the previous few we had seen lined up on the wall.

There was a pathway that started from the lighthouse and made its way down hill which we followed to check out the other sites within the fort. The next structure was the barracks for the artillery men!

For some reason through the window, there was the coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago largely printed. It seemed to be there temporarily. The structure looked like it was renovated a few timed before with some newer looking wood and roofing.

Here is a closer look at the sign so you can read it yourself if you want to! Before this, I had no idea that there was a powder magazine on the compound nor did I even know what one was! It was exciting as we were heading to one next that was lower down the path. Just around the side of the artillery barracks, there was a stairway that took you lower down the hill.

Before descending the stairway, you can see the views that awaited us! This would be of the other side of Scarborough that was more densely populated and developed.

The above shot is of the barracks but from a lower level that reveals that it was not just a one level shack but an actual two story stone brick building! We were quite surprised when we saw this!

We finally got to the powder magazine which was this building in the above shot where all the ammunition and explosives were stored. This was the most enchanting building in the whole compound as it was below a legendary immortelle tree and covered in moss and greeneries that gave it such a alluring look!

We got to the last place of the exploration that was just next to the powder magazine and in front of the artillery barracks which was an amazing lookout with a few canons and a bench so one could observed all of the city of Scarborough and the coming and goings of its ports. Imagine the view at night!

This is what it looked like to be standing there taking in the views of central Tobago. We saw the inter island ferry that takes citizens to and from Trinidad (where we came from) as well larger cargo vessels and so on. The sprawling vistas were easily visible of the western side of the island as well.

I decided to do some artistic portraits for fun as well and my wife was happily the model! I just love getting bokeh shots of landscapes with the model in focus!

All in all, even though the museum and the other parts of the facility was closed off for renovation, it was still so much fun to explore and taken in the elements of an era long gone. Tobago's rich colonial history when the Caribbean was referred to as the "New World" was not kept back by the fact that it was so small. Before it was paired up as a twin island republic with Trinidad, Tobago was well sort after and juggled between the colonial powers for its lush forests, arable land and resources. Thanks a lot for reading, Cheers!