Round-the-island Trinidad Tour part 2: the Queen's Park Savannah

A mile or so north of Woodford Square, between the downtown area and the hills of the Northern Range, the Queen’s Park Savannah is the city’s largest green space, enjoyed by everyone from joggers and cricketers and Easter kite-flyers to vendors of oysters, corn and coconuts. 

Occupying approximately 260 acres of land, the Savannah is over 180 years old, making it the oldest recreation ground in the West Indies and, reportedly, the world's largest roundabout. It was originally part of the Paradise Estate owned by the Peschier family. In 1817, then governor Sir Ralph Woodford bought it and turned it into a city park. A portion of land in the centre of the Savannah, though, is a burial ground for the members of the Peschier family.

The Savannah is like the lungs of the capital city—its largest green space—or the concert capital because it is the venue for most big music concerts. Locals can be seen jogging, cycling and walking their dogs at any hour of day or night. On the weekends and after 4pm during the work week, the Savannah comes alive with football and cricket games, jogging, and couples and families talking strolls or having picnics. It is home to coconut vendors whose trucks line the street on the western side. Other vendors sell roasted corn, oysters, pholourie and bake and shark.

Near the southeastern corner, at the top of Frederick Street, the National Museum and Art Gallery overlooks Memorial Park and its cenotaph in honour of nationals who served and died in military service. There’s an annual wreath-laying ceremony on Remembrance Day. Among the collections in the National Museum are paintings by Trinidad’s first major artist, Michel-Jean Cazabon (1813-88), and exhibitions of Carnival arts, natural history, life during World War II, and the energy industry. The national art collection on the upper floor features work by leading local artists. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. T 623-5941.

A stroll around the Savannah’s perimeter takes you past the site of the new National Academy for the Performing Arts, the foreign ministry housed in one of the city’s finest old houses, the modern regional headquarters of British Petroleum, and the Anglican parish church of All Saints (1845). Ranged along the northwestern side are seven extravagant mansions nicknamed The Magnificent Seven. They date back to around 1900 and display a dizzying range of colonial fantasy. Queen’s Royal College (where Dr Eric Williams and the Trinidadian Nobel prizewinner VS Naipaul went to school) is next to the residence of the Anglican bishop; then the Roman Catholic archbishop’s residence, Mille Fleurs, Roomor (a private residence), Whitehall (for many years the office of the prime minister), and Stollmeyer’s Castle, the weirdest of them all, partly modelled on Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

After Wild Flower Park and the turn-off to Maraval and Maracas Bay at the Savannah’s northwest corner, follow the road along the northern side of the Savannah. On the left Lady Chancellor Hill, next to the zoo, leads up to a lookout point above the city, and is a popular route for joggers. The Emperor Valley Zoo opened in 1952 (and is currently under renovation); at the time it consisted of 2.5 hectares of land, 10 cages, 127 animals, one gatehouse and a kiosk. Today, it is home to hundreds of animals; visitors can refresh themselves at an outdoor café, and there are paths for animal viewing. It is probably the most extensive collection of local and foreign animals in the Caribbean. The macaws are always welcoming, and the big cats, monkeys, tropical fish and reptiles are popular with children. Admission $10 for adults, $5 for children. Open daily 9.30am to 6pm

The lovely Botanical Gardens are a favourite among locals for post-zoo picnics. Their 25 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds spread back from the Queen’s Park Savannah toward the President’s House. Governor Ralph Woodford and botanist David Lockhart, who is buried in a small cemetery in the Gardens, established them in 1820, making it one of the oldest gardens in the western hemisphere. They are home to one of the oldest collections of exotic plants and trees in the western hemisphere. More than 200 species grow in the Orchid Display House. The Gardens are especially popular on weekends and public holidays when school groups, families, couples and strollers come out to take in their ambience and charm. Open daily 6am–6pm. Admission free.

Beyond the gardens, the President’s House is fronted by its own manicured gardens. The roundabout beyond gives access to the suburbs of St. Ann’s and Cascade (left), and the Lady Young Road which snakes over the foothills to join the highway out of the city. Along the eastern side of the Savannah, more renovation and construction are taking place, with the Citibank building setting the tone for contemporary concrete design.

More in our round-the-island Trinidad tour:

• Touring Trinidad part 1: A walk around the capital, Port of Spain
  
• Touring Trinidad part 3: the Port of Spain suburbs
• Touring Trinidad part 4: Chaguramas & the northwest peninsula
• Touring Trinidad part 5: Heading north: the north coast & northern range
• Touring Trinidad part 6: Heading northeast: the East-west corridoor & northeast coasts
• Touring Trinidad part 7: The east coast: Mayaro & Manzanilla
• Touring Trinidad part 8: Central & the west coast
• Touring Trinidad part 9: The second capital: San Fernando
• Touring Trinidad part 10: Trinidad's southwest: the "deep south"