Sure Travel Journey Vol 5.1 Summer 2019 | Page 49

N apoleon’s
last
Stand
WITH DIRECT FLIGHTS TRANSFORMING A
FIVE-DAY CRUISE INTO A FOUR- HOUR FLIGHT,
RICHARD HOLMES JETTED OFF TO DISCOVER
THE ENIGMATIC ISLAND OF ST HELENA.
The view was not playing ball. We’d tackled the winding path from Cabbage
Tree Road, along wooden boardwalks and grassy tracks, to reach the summit
of Diana’s Peak, the highest point on the island of St Helena.
Brochures for the walk promised panoramic vistas down to Sandy Bay,
the capital of Jamestown to the north and the glinting Atlantic Ocean on all
© HOLMES
sides. Instead, mist swirled around us and the island was all but hidden in a
veil of grey, but even the light drizzle couldn’t dampen our spirits.
I’d come to St Helena in search of history and the great outdoors and had
discovered both in abundance over just a few days. True, the weather on this
far-flung island in the mid-Atlantic is famously unpredictable, but it’s a small
price to pay to explore a truly unique destination.
For keen walkers, St Helena is a revelation. Our path up and over
Diana’s Peak traced the ridgeline of the ancient volcanoes that formed the
island and is St Helena’s most famous track, but the island’s network of 21
“postbox trails” are as varied as they are challenging.
MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE // 4 9