Out and About Barbados: Earthworks Pottery, Speightstown, Bridgetown and more

Here’s another marathon of bits and bobs seen and spotted whilst out and about in Barbados.

Bridgetown Loves Colour

I just love colourful buildings, and the contrast of other colours against them. There were so many scenes where I wished I could have taken a picture from afar without being noticed, especially where people were dressed vibrantly against colourful backdrops……but I held back from diving for my camera and just admired them without drawing attention to myself.

Dominos

As well as some serious players at Oistins Fish Fry, I spied a regular spot on Bay Street, Bridgetown, were there seemed to be a resident gathering of domino players, everyday I think….

When you turn around and see a glowing sunset behind you…….

Had to do a U turn and take it in for a while.

It’s hard to believe that only seconds away from this tranquil scene was the mayhem of thick traffic, honking horns, rush hour and the buzz of Friday night revellers flocking into town. It was nightfall within what felt like minutes.

Rustic Charm: Speightstown

In sharp contrast to Bridgetown, Speightstown not only pulls you further north of the island, but also further away from the crowds, noise and commotion of Bridgetown.

There is something quaint about Speightstown.

Old and rustic, with a tinge of the feeling I got in Cuba’s Trinidad.

There aren’t any cobbled streets or horse drawn carriages, but If you want a calmer, quieter sea front scene than the congestion and crowds of Bridgetown – head up North to Speightstown.  

 

You’ll find a few places to eat, shops and a low key, quiet vibe.

Street Art

Gallery of Caribbean Art 

The Gallery of Caribbean Art is what first got my attention about Speightstown. It’s a fairly small space, and you can’t take photographs inside the gallery, but you can take as long as you like just pondering on each piece. All pieces are priced and available for sale, including some other craft pieces. 

There’s a lot of talent hanging from those walls, and worth a look if you’re in the area. Note – you have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the gallery, and I’m not sure if there was a lift, I don’t remember seeing one, so do check if need be.

Don’t forget the Bakery 

There’s a bakery that kept getting a mention when researching Speightstown – the reviews were consistently high and the food for sale highly recommended for it’s delicious factor. The spicy sweet freshly baked smells are bound to get you to buy something.

I sampled a few bits – an apple pastry, coconut pastry and a big chunk of cake.

Apple – not overly sweet, but very nice.

Coconut – again not very sweet but tasty and filling.

Cake – a simple sweet cake – the birds enjoyed some of it too!!

The bakery is a few steps across from the esplanade so you absolutely cannot fail to find it.

Lunch Stop: Fisherman’s Pub 

You’ll hear nothing but rave reviews about this place.

I remember hearing about it years ago and just thinking “yeah yeah”, another tourist trap, but it really is as good as they say and such a great chill spot and top-notch down to earth Bajan food with generous portions. The restaurant is popular, quirky and cosy. If you like traditional Bajan/Caribbean style foods you should give it a try. 

This was not a place where you sit at the table and someone comes to serve you. You queue up and select whatever you want to be added to your plate – you can see everything/all the options behind a glass screen.

Once everything you want is on your plate, you pay, then you sit down with your food. You can also take away.

Zero Tolerance

Harrison’s Cave again

I had a lovely lunch at Harrisons Cave after doing the tram ride – I’ve been before, and nothing much has changed there, but the actual park area has changed a lot.

You can go zip-lining there now and other outdoor adventure type things. The garden area is lovely, and worth spending a bit of time in, instead of rushing off.

Earthworks Pottery

If you love arts and crafts this one is a must.

Earthworks produces and sells mainly pottery and ceramic items in Barbados, everything is done open plan, under one small roof – it’s a popular place with tourists, but there are lesser well known similar businesses on the island too.

The resident cat might just be more popular than the pottery, she certainly seemed to be the centre of attention.

I was given a short tour around the work shop, hearing abut each stage of production, and seeing staff busy working on each stage. The kilns were burning intensely, batches of items were ready to go in, some were ready to decorate and others were waiting to be glazed.

Interesting fact: Earthworks and Flower Forest (botanical garden) are owned by the same people!

Henderson Reece: Batik Art Studio

After browsing and making a purchase at Earthworks, I popped across to H P Batik Art Studio and had the privilege of meeting Henderson Reece (the owner and artist), he was busy working on a piece, paintbrush in hand, but also had time for a little chat. The studio has a gallery of pieces for sale but the policy was ‘no photographs’.

Henderson reinforced that his paintings convey positivity, upliftment, vibrancy and memories of Barbados from bygone eras – for example, paintings of locations before they were modernised or built upon with new buildings – memories many will recognise from their childhoods growing up.

Despite this I spotted a small number of seemingly dark (energy-wise) paintings that didn’t seem to fit with Henderson’s style. When I asked him what inspired him to paint these pieces, he revealed that they were not his work, but the work of a young ‘up and coming’ artist – he himself said he felt the work was dark and negative, not to his taste.

Henderson’s artistic talents are mainly self-taught, and his work can be found in collections across Europe, America and the Caribbean.

I came across Henderson Reece via social media and was really pleased to hear his studio was part of the the pottery venue as well, as both had been on my ‘to visit’ list for a while.

Spotted

 

 

That will do for now I think! More to come though…..

Best wishes to all, wherever you are 🤗 🙏✨