Introduction to The Bottom, Saba

Having crossed through Windwardside the Road passes through tiny St John's – home to the island's only school – en route to Saba's main village The Bottom, the seat of government and the island's administrative centre. Beyond the town there's a wonderful view of the village, ranks of little white houses with traditional red roofs and green-trimmed shutters, nestled in among the surrounding peaks.

As you drop down the hill to THE BOTTOM, the first two buildings on the outskirts comprise the Saba University School of Medicine, whose students you'll see around the island, almost all of them from North America. Further down is the department of public works in a white-stone old school building and, on your right, the oldest Anglican church on the island, thought to date from the mid-1700s. Beyond here, the tidy streets are lined with old stone walls and white picket fences.

In the centre of the main square, a patch of grass holds the bust of Samuel Charles, a policeman gunned down here in 1989 in a rare drugs-related incident that shocked the island. Around the square, a series of neat buildings house the fire and police stations and the courthouse, while a handful of munching goats and immaculately dressed schoolchildren are likely to be roaming the nearby streets. At the western edge of the town, the grand governor's house (not open to the public) has particularly intricate wooden fretwork and splendid galleries.

Information by Rough Guides

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