The red tower
Key link of the signal chain.
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Gun Hill Signal Station is a small red tower on a hill in central Barbados, among flower gardens and old cannons. It has a wide view over sugar-cane fields and the valley to the south coast and Bridgetown. The hill has been tied to defence since at least 1697, when it was called Briggs Hill and named as one of four points where guns would fire an alarm. When the signal stations were set up in 1818 and 1819, it became the key link in a chain passing flag messages across the island. It was also a place for soldiers to recover from illness. It fell into ruin until the Barbados National Trust restored it after 1981. You climb steps between beds of flowers and bougainvillea to the red tower, whose windows look out over the island. The site also has a kitchen, a powder store and a sentry box. On the slope below is a well-known lion carved in stone. The station is 8 km in a straight line north-east of Bridgetown and 5 km south of Harrison's Cave. Listings give entry at about BDS$10 for adults, which may have changed, and opening from Monday to Saturday.
Key link of the signal chain.
Flowers and bougainvillea.
Carved on the slope.
Gun Hill, Saint George parish, central Barbados
Listings say Monday to Saturday; check before you go.
Harrison's Cave is 5 km to the north.