“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor
If you want a chill and peaceful place to unwind, Castleton Botanical Gardens is the place to be.
I have visited Castleton Gardens in Saint Andrew many times and never documented my experience until I met Angel Hylton on Instagram. She is pretty amazing and was my photographer for the day.
On October 14, 2017 we took an Annotto Bay coaster bus located next to the transportation center across from the Half Way Tree burger King fast food outlet.
If you arrive at the bus stand before the bus is packed to capacity, you will have to wait a while. The bus will not leave the stand until it is full. Our journey started on Constant Spring Road and we continued onto Stony Hill Road.
then into Golden Spring and Temple Hall. We passed another the Brandon Hill Community before starting the Junction road. Our next stop was Castleton Garden. You won’t miss it.
You will see signs before you enter the parish of St Mary. You can ask for a bus stop or remind the conductor for the final stop if it’s your first time traveling via public transportation.
Your stop will be at the entrance of the garden along Junction Main Road and just across from it is the Wag Water River. The fare for the Journey from HWT to Castleton Gardens was $JMD170.00
Opening hours are Mondays- Sunday’s 5:30AM and closing hours are 6:00PM October to February and 6:30PM March to September except for Labour Day and National Heroes’ Day. The garden is accessible to the public and Guess what? It’s free
Castleton Gardens was founded November 19, 1862 because the Sulphur River flooding at Bath Botanical Gardens in St Thomas. Bath was Jamaica’s first major Botanical Garden.
Castleton garden was once a sugar plantation owned by Colonel Castle, an English planter. He gave the Government of Jamaica the Garden as a gift.
Because the discontent at Bath, it had began to negatively impacted plant life. Hence, the garden was moved to Castleton.
Castleton is located on the Wag Water River which was name by the Tainos. The river is wide and beautiful with huge stones. Lots for space for picnics and group outings.
We explored the garden after enjoying the river. We were surrounded many shades of green. It was pretty awesome. We saw many spices of palms trees.
After we enjoyed the river and the garden in its entirety, we hopped a bus to HWT with seats to choose from. We did not wait long for transportation because there were buses are coming from Annotto Bay in St Mary and from as far as Portland.
have you been to Castleton Botanical Gardens in St.Mary? What was your experience like? I’m dying to hear!
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You've discovered my blog. I'm delighted you're here. Maybe it's destiny. I'm Doreen Lillian Scarlett welcome to Nature's Sweet Escapes where I go on the far side of Instagram to document and share my adventures.