Fort Shirley at Cabrits National Park

Another awesome school field trip!  This one took us to Cabrits National Park which is just 2.5 miles from us, just north of Portsmouth.  Lots of pics below!!

The historic Fort Shirley was a British outpost in the late 1700s and early 1800s.  It was abandoned in 1854 and restored in the 1980s.

Kids were warned to stay away from these poisonous trees!

Starting the hike - the dock behind us was where we first landed in Dominica.  Kids had iPads to document erosion and erosion control methods for Science class.

Noni fruit

Some mammoth trees and beautiful vegetation we saw

Guarding the entrance

Cobblestone paths up to Fort Shirley

This is inside the building shown at the beginning of the blog.  They have turned this into accommodations.

This is upstairs of the same building.

And a kitchenette in the upstairs rooms

A view from the upstairs window.  This is Prince Rupert Bay, the fort was built to protect.

We took a snack break under this impressive mango tree!

This was officer quarters

Plaque on the Officer Quarter's Building: "On this spot the Mutiny of the West India Regiment broke out on the 4th of April 1802 and lasted for three days.  This plaque is in memory of those members of the Regiment who were killed or executed in their fight for freedom.  As a result of their actions here some 10,000 Slave Soldiers in the British Army were freed in 1807.  It was the first act of mass emancipation in the British Empire."

Inside the officer quarters building - Commemoration Plaque for the Jamestown settlement of 1608 - they stopped here in Dominica for two days on their way to Virginia.

The officer quarter's building has been set-up for entertaining, with a large dining area upstairs and this bar area downstairs

18th century paintings show an idealized version of life here while the Fort was active

Upstairs overlooking the canon battery and Prince Rupert Bay

These are a beautiful little bird I've seen with bright yellow chest.  They are very hard to take pictures of because they are so jittery and fast, so this is the best representation I've found!

The Waitukubuli National Trail ends here at Fort Shirley

A piece of the external wall of the weapons rooms

I got separated from the kids and ended up at the top of this hill where somehow they dragged this massive 24 pounder.  The school group went on an easier hike to some of the nearby ruins.

In the distance you can see Guadalupe from here!