Walsingham Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Walsingham Nature Reserve, Hamilton Parish. (32.3485036, -64.7104735)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=200 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Tom Moore's Tavern, Walsingham Lane, Hamilton Parish, Bermuda, Tel: 441-293-8020, Fax: 441-293-4222. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1844	Irish poet Thomas Moore writes some of his poetic verses under the famous calabash tree.
1987	calabash tree destroyed by Hurricane Emily.

Description

Walsingham Cave, sometimes simply Walsingham, is a small cave in Walsingham Nature Reserve in Hamilton Parish, which is called Tom Moore's Jungle by the locals. The park has 12 acres of land, and is said to be last piece of unspoilt land on the Bermudas, as the rest of the islands is uniformly urbanised. Walsingham Cave is located at the center of the park, so it makes no difference if you enter at the Blue Hole entrance in the north or at Tom Moore's Tavern in the south. It seems there are no signs, so it is difficult to find the cave, which is probably intended. We recommend using GPS, the cave is on OpenStreetMap. Exploring the cave systems or swimming is discouraged. It is necessary to get a permit for cave exploring, and "protective headwear and footwear must be worn, and flashlights carried". Fishing and swimming is not permitted in the caves of the park in order to protect rare, endemic cave life. We were a little baffled that the reserve is owned by a private trust that also runs the Tom Moore's Tavern.

As far as we understand a simple visit of the former show cave does not fall under any of those restrictions. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend good walking shoes, helmet, headlamp and additional lamp. Stay on the trail, which is more or less still there. Do not touch anything and leave no litter.

This Reserve contains the following caves: Causeway, Castle Grotto, Blue Grotto, Walsingham, Subway, Deep Blue, Vine and Fern Sink to name a few. Most of the caves are linked underwater to form the Walsingham Cave System.

Walsingham Cave is 200 meters long and was once opened to the public. The remains of a concrete path and stairs can still be seen. These end at the edge of a deep lake beneath the surface of which can be seen numerous speleothems.

Tom Moore's Jungle is private trust property available for viewing without charge to visitors and residents by the trustees, who also operate the well known Tom Moore's Tavern. It is a charming, romantic, woodland area with beautiful views, worth a visit as one of the very few totally "unspoiled" places left in Bermuda. It demonstrates vividly how Bermuda once looked all over the main island before homes, hotels and other properties dotted and changed the landscape forever.

Tom Moore's Tavern was originally known as Walsingham House. It was once the property of Robert Walsingham, the coxswain of the doomed "Sea Venture" in 1609. Then it was the 17th century estate of Samuel Trott and his family. It was so impressive in British Bermudian colonial architecture that a replica of it was built at Wembley, London, for the Empire Exhibition of 1924. The house was a tavern for 75 years before it was restored and reopened as a restaurant with the "tavern" retained.

The restaurant is named after the famous Irish born English poet Tom Moore, who before he became famous for his literary works and songs, spent several months in Bermuda in 1803 as an Admiralty Clerk of the maritime court and befriended a local plantation owner and got close to a young local married lady. Here, Moore courted, romanticised, wrote heady words to turn his lass compliant - and established his local reputation as a ladies' man. The calabash tree immortalised in his "Epistle V" still stands as a stump.

Text by Tony Oldham (2003). With kind permission.