A short ride east of Bridgetown, HASTINGS first developed in the eighteenth century as a by-product of Britain's military development of the nearby Garrison area; soldiers from St Ann's Fort were quartered here. More than a century later, its proximity to the capital led to Hastings being developed as Barbados's first tourist resort, and a handful of grand old hotels still stand on the seafront to mark those glory days. Sadly, the once attractive beach has been heavily eroded, and the whole place now wears a somewhat forlorn expression.

A couple of miles further along Highway 7, ROCKLEY 's main attraction is its magnificent beach, known locally as Accra Beach - a great white swathe of sand, popular with tourists and local families, that can get pretty crowded at peak season and weekends. The people-watching is top-notch as hair-braiders, T-shirt and craft vendors and the odd hustler mingle with windsurfers and sun-worshippers, creating one of the liveliest beach scenes on the island.