The Scotland District of Barbados

I visited this tWHS in January 2023 by rental car which at least at the moment is necessary to cover as much ground as possible by getting to different viewpoints and to try to explore the area on foot (when at all possible).

When in Barbados the Scotland District is only sparsely signposted at St. Andrew's Parish thanks to the local Lions Club. Since this tWHS is mainly about the site's unique geological characteristics, unless you're a geologist, you might be better off trying to grasp its importance from a couple of viewpoints. The Scotland District is based at the top of an underwater mountain range which stretches all the way from Trinidad in the south to Puerto Rico further north in the Caribbean chain, and is the only location in the range which is above water. What you can actually see from a viewpoint is a protruding half bowl relatively close to the sea, with the only highlands of Barbados.

The Scotland District has rock formations from around 30-50 million years ago which have been created by tectonic movement and erosion. They are composed mainly of clay, chalk and volcanic ash and run through the parishes of St. John, St. Joseph and St. Andrew. Due to its land composition, the Scotland District is more prone to landslides than any other part of Barbados (so do keep this in mind if you happen to visit after a very rainy day). This is one of the reasons why it …

I visited the Scotland District in August 2022. Well, what we WH travellers know as the Scotland District at least. To most people in and from Barbados, the Scotland District is unknown. Show it on a map, show a picture, and they will recognise it as Mount Hillaby, the highest point in Barbados. When you just drive through this sparsely-populated part of Barbados, there is nothing that catches the eye. Most people will tick this TWHS off on the way to more popular tourist destinations and other TWHS locations, such as St. Nicholas’ Abbey. Having read the previous review of the Scotland District TWHS, I was not particularly excited to go out of my way and visit. 

However, all things changed when I visited Harrison’s Cave, which is located in the center of the island about 30 minutes driving from Bridgetown. This cave is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Barbados and rightfully so. The entrance fee is very steep, a whopping 57 USD, or 114 Barbadian dollars. One inside the cave, however, the visitor learns about the interesting geology of Barbados. While all Caribbean islands are volcanic or continental in nature, Barbados is actually the highest peak of a sub-marine mountain range streching the full Caribbean. As such, it is the only Caribbean island that is tectonic. 

Harrison’s Cave is by far the best way to appreciate Barbados’ geological uniqueness and the train ride through the cave system is complemented by very informational videos. All …

I did not really get the outstanding value of this TWHS. It was even hard to determine if you are in the Scotland district or outside. Scotland district is actually the nickname for the Saint Andrew district. I visited Morgan Lewis and the Saint Andrew’s Parish Church and drove up the country side. It’s a nice and not very populated part of the island. The description does (unlike for Barbados’ other TWHS) not even state under what criteria the site should be inscribed. If this gets inscribed it will be one of the sites you ask yourself if you are in it while you are in it. Not my favorite ones.