Hemmed by the South Shore on one side and Hamilton Harbour on the other, most of Paget Parish is contained within what on a map looks like a trouser leg on a pair of sideways pants (matched across the harbor by the spread of Pembroke and the city). As the outskirts of Hamilton, Paget is a bustling, thriving community passed through every morning by thousands of city-bound commuters from the western parishes, and every night by the same residents heading home.

The river of traffic has brought noise and congestion to what once were peaceful country lanes leading horses and carriages, bicycles, and pedestrians into a very different Bermuda. But beyond the main thoroughfares, Paget’s charm endures, and the beauty of its historic places, family estates, nature reserves, beaches, and meandering harborfront make it a treasure trove of discoveries around every hairpin turn.

Off the South Shore Road, for example, take a tangent down neighborhood lanes and feel manmade turbulence evaporate into the sound of blue surf instead. Tool down Middle Road, bordered by elegant old homes and their impossibly green gardens; dawdle down narrow lanes which roll into valleys or over hills where silence is, finally, golden. Of course, there’s plenty to occupy a visitor who wants to be busy in Paget—hot new restaurants, the coolest bars, top-quality sports facilities, and events to go with them.

Named for William Paget, the fourth Lord of Paget, the parish is changing as speedily as the rest of Bermuda, with new restaurants, hotel developments, and residential complexes. Notably, the dual-property Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa opened in 2008, incorporating the sites of two now-defunct hotels, the Belmont and the Newstead, and bringing two acclaimed restaurants, a spa, an 18-hole semi-private golf course, and a fitness center.

And then, there is the Paget that never seems to change—the quaint stone limestone walls of seafaring Salt Kettle, the ducks of Foot of the Lane, the Elbow Beach breakers, the herb gardens of Camden, and, of course, Johnny Barnes’s smile.

Getting to Paget Parish

Paget is dotted with bus stops, making for easy public transport around the parish. Take the No. 2 bus (hourly) through the parish center between Hamilton and Ord Road (north of Elbow Beach). To go to Sandys or the South Shore beaches farther west, hop on the No. 7 (every half hour) or No. 8 (every 15 minutes), which take South Shore Road and Middle Road respectively to the Royal Naval Dockyard. Travel within Paget qualifies for the three-zone tariff of $3 (exact change, or tokens, tickets, or passes required).

The quaint iron ferries of the Paget–Warwick route are worth experiencing, especially for the breezy harbor-hop to the Ferry Terminal in Hamilton. Paget has three very scenic stops along narrow Harbour Road, where you can either jump aboard or get off and explore. Farthest down the harbor is Lower Ferry (between Highwood Ln. and Valley Rd.); Hodgson’s Ferry opposite the Chapel Road junction is next, followed by Salt Kettle, situated at the foot of this charming old seafaring neighborhood.

If you board in Hamilton, the short circuit out and back takes about a half hour; ferries leave Hamilton every 30 minutes or less at commuter times, otherwise every 45 minutes. Fares are $5 round-trip, $2.50 one-way. For information, call Sea Express (tel. 441/295-4506, www.seaexpress.bm), or check the schedules printed in the phone book.

There is a taxi stand outside the main entrance of the Mandarin Oriental Elbow Beach Hotel. Otherwise, book a taxi via telephone. Some of the largest and most frequently used taxi companies are: Bermuda Taxi Radio Cabs Ltd. (tel. 441/295-4141 taxi dispatch, Hamilton branch 441/295-0041, airport branch 441/293-0315); Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) Taxi Co-op Transportation (tel. 441/292-4476, cooptaxi [at] cwbda [dot] bm); and BTA Dispatching Ltd. (tel. 441/296-2121, fax 441/297-5483, airport office 441/293-6841, info [at] taxibermuda [dot] bm, www.taxibermuda.bm).