Middle Ground (Antigua)

Middle Ground
Middle Ground
Coordinates	17 ° 1 ′  N , 61 ° 46 ′  W Coordinates: 17 ° 1 ′  N , 61 ° 46 ′  W
Basic data
Country	Antigua and Barbuda
island	Antigua
Parish	St. Paul
Enumeration District	72000 EnglishHarb -MiddleGround
Residents	112 (2001)
View from Shirley's Heights of Freeman's Bay and Middle Ground, with Fort Berkeley and Nelson's Dockyard , English Harbor (center right), Falmouth Bay (in the background) and the eastern Shekerley Mountains

Middle Ground is a peninsula in the south of the Caribbean island of Antigua , in the state of Antigua and Barbuda . It is also part of English Harbor . The area is part of the central area of Nelson's Dockyard National Park .

Location and landscape

Middle Ground is located between Falmouth Bay , in the center of the Antiguan south coast, and the small Freeman's Bay to the east . It is connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, thus forming two excellent natural harbors , the English and Falmouth Harbor are called.

About 100 inhabitants live here on the land side, the south of the peninsula is natural and used for tourism.

Neighboring locations or locations:

Falmouth Falmouth Bay
		English Harbor Town English Harbor- Freeman's Bay

History, nature and sights

English Harbor was one of the most important naval ports of the Royal Navy in the Caribbean, Falmouth Harbor in the great bay was more of a trading port. Middle Ground was fortified relatively strongly. On the rise was Fort Cuyler , guarding both bay entrances. Fort Berkeley was built on the headland in Freeman's Bay . Above it was the Keanes Battery position . On the Cape of Falmouth Bay, Blake's Point , was the Blake's Point Battery .

As early as the 1980s, the Antiguan Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) proposed a Shirley Heights and Middle Ground Protected Area . In 1984 the sanctuary of the peninsula was then implemented as part of Nelson's Dockyard National Park ( NDNP ), which covers the entire south of St. Paul's Parish with over 40 km². Middleground is part of the core area of ​​the park.

The quays and buildings of the former Royal Navy port now form the Nelson's Dockyard open-air museum, which, as a show harbor, is one of the island's main tourist attractions. Only Fort Berkeley remains of the military installations , which is a short walk from the dockyards, otherwise there are only remnants of the wall.

In the west of the peninsula is Pigeon Beach , the town's popular bathing beach. On the south side is the less visited Windward Beach , which looks out to sea. A hiking trail, the Middle Ground Trail , leads from Fort Berkeley to Pigeon Beach . The path offers a good view of the region, but also leads through the eastern part of the island, which is severely affected by desertification through deforestation and later overgrazing.

and display information about the image

Panorama over the Middle Ground peninsula, out to the open Caribbean towards the southwest.

literature

• D. Nicholson, Antigua Archaeological Society (Ed.): English Harbor, Antigua: a historica1 and archaeological sketch. , St. John's (Antigua) 1983.

Web links

• Natural heritage. Nelson's Dockyard National Park park nature trails : Middle Ground Trail (Fort Berkeley to Pigeon Beach) , antiguahistory.net
• Marine history at a great height - Take the hike , antiguanice.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} National Statistics Office: Census 2001 Volume I Summary Social, Economic, Demographic, and Housing Characteristics. St. John's, July 2004, Table 8 Population by Enumeration District and Sex. 2. St. Paul. P. 32 ( ab.gov.ag PDF, p. 43 - longer loading time).
2. ↑ A detailed map of the archaeological sites and monuments can be found: The Caribbean Conservation Association (Ed.): Antigua and Barbuda - Country environmental profile . i. A. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda - Historical, Conservation, and Environmental Commission. St. Michael (Barbados) 1991, Figure 9.1 (3). English Harbor defenses: sites of historical importance induding Nelson's Dockyard. , S. 166 ( usaid.gov [PDF; 10.6 MB ] there p. 185; follows Ref. Nicholson 1983; on Section 9 Protection of historical / cultural heritage , p. 161 / pdf 180 ff; Overview map Figure 9.1 (1) Places of historical and cultural interest in Antigua. P. 163 / PDF, p. 182).
3. ^ The Technical Advisory Committee - UNCCD (ed.): United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification: National Action Plan for Antigua & Barbuda . (Draft), i. A. The Environment Division - Ministry of Public Works and Environment. April 2005, No. 14 in Table 2.6 Results of the land degradation survey conducted in Antigua during May 2004 , p. 40 ( unccd.int [PDF] there p. 47; and photos p. 44 and 45 / PDF 51 f, in chapter 2.2. Inventory of Degraded Sites - Potential and Actual ). unccd.int ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.