The most common and best loved views of Jamestown are Main Street and the Grand Parade.  Georgian listed buildings are in all directions, many of which remain little altered from the original structure.  If Islanders advise visitors to see the ‘back view’ of Jamestown they invariably tell them to take a walk along the Run. 

The Run is a stream which flows from the Heart Shaped Waterfall through James Valley to the South Atlantic.  It flows through Jamestown at the back of houses and has a path alongside.  A walk along this path offers some interesting and unusual views of the houses in Jamestown but this route along the Run is not the only interesting walking route through Jamestown which is off the beaten track.

Visitors leaving the wharf and crossing the Grand Parade en route to Main Street will see the Castle Gardens on the left.  Anne’s Place, an internationally famous venue for ‘yachties’ [yacht crews crossing the oceans] and a popular choice among Islanders for lunch or dinner, nestles at the back of Castle Gardens, at the foot of the steep valley side.  Behind and above Anne’s Place is a 10 feet wide pathway hewn out of the valley side.  It is called Sisters Walk.  The reason it is called Sisters Walk is another story for later.

The lower end of Sister’s Walk leads onto the wharf, the upper end joins with Napoleon Street on the southern side of Jamestown’s central area.  Between these two points are remnants of stone walls and structures giving clues to how Jamestown was built, what it looked like in the 18th century and how the town and its inhabitants worked when hundreds of ships’ captains called each year to re-supply their vessels.

The lower end of Sister’s Walk leading down to the wharf.  Supplies unloaded from visiting sailing ships would all pass this point on the way to warehouses built adjacent to this once important artery through Jamestown.

Supplies passing in the opposite direction to the ships were produced by the Island’s planters and their slaves.  Salted meat and fish was packed in barrels and rolled down Sister’s Walk to the wharf.

The view today from the lower end of Sister’s Walk, near the wharf.  In the days of sail, this route was the busiest in Jamestown as men rolled barrels and donkeys carried packs of cargo between the wharf and warehouses.

If you know what to look for, St Helena’s built heritage offers many clues and indicators.  A jigsaw of information can be put together revealing a surprisingly detailed picture which tells a comprehensive story of Island life.  The remnants of built heritage on Sisters Walk offer more information on some aspects of Island Life than official records and other more conventional sources.

This photo, for instance, shows a brick wall where once was a doorway.  Where the doorway leads to and for what purpose is indicated by remnants of other structures.

Another doorway further along Sister’s Walk.  This second example shows more clearly how the original structure might have looked and helps to indicate that several buildings had access onto Sister’s Walk.