July 12 - Day Six: Royal Naval Dockyard

"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it." —Jonathan Winters

We're docked at King's Wharf. It's one of two large docks at the Royal Naval Dockyard where cruise ships bring ashore 1000s of people each week. It's a beautiful area surrounded by turquoise water, beautiful yachts and historic buildings.

The Royal Naval Dockyard was built in 1809 as a fortress against American revolutionaries, uppity Bonapartists and sundry privateers. It's located on the barbed hook at the western end of the island. It was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. During the First and Second World Wars, it was a bustling, vibrant port with floating docks where ships were repaired for combat deployment. Now it serves as the island's playground, a complex of museums, restaurants, galleries and pubs.

King's Wharf and Heritage Wharf at the Royal Naval Dockyard 

Royal Naval Dockyard

Celebrity Summit docked at King's Wharf in Bermuda 

Map of the Royal Naval Dockyard

The Dockyard 

The Bermuda Craft Market is located at the old cooperage building in the dockyard. It's a large collection of locally made arts and crafts booths. The building where the craft market is located, used to be a warehouse and a barrel making workshop. 

During the 19th century the Royal Naval Dockyard served the British navy ships. Hundreds of workers worked at the cooperage during those days making barrels which were loaded into the ships filled with provisions. You can still find the old handmade barrels in the market that have been preserved to showcase early practices. 

Casemates Barracks was built between 1839 and 1843 by British convicts. It served as a barrack for Marine Infantry who defended the dockyard area against possible enemy invasion. The roof of the building was made of bricks and concrete so it could withstand enemy bombings and cannon shots. It is 8-foot thick. The walls are also several feet thick and made of hard limestone rocks. In 1951 when the British navy left the island, the Casemates became the main prison for Bermuda.

Bermuda Clocktower Mall is also located at the Royal Naval Dockyard. The two towers on the building are 100-foot high, one having a clock that shows the real time and the other with a clock that shows the time of the high tide. The Clocktower building was built in 1850s with 3-foot thick walls, it was used as a warehouse for the British Navy. Today it's a major shopping mall near the cruise dock. 

A short video of the Dockyard